Love and Redemption
by EreshkigalGirl
Summary: Post-Beauty. Flauvic's back to serve a year-and-a-half punishment as a servant in Athanarel. But has Elestra left herself and her country open to betrayal? complete Nov. 2008: I went back and edited the earlier chapters and cleaned up the fic in general
1. Hello Again

Hello, everybody! I'm on under a new pen name, now, but I'm the same author who did Short Snippet. This is the full story. And...I lie like dog. You see, I ran into a little snag: something happened I didn't know about until one of the characters told me. It's really annoying when that happens. Anyway, the fic isn't done yet, but I wanted to get some of it out there before I lose interest. This way I can get your love and adoration to fuel the creative juices. Love and chocolate, Eresh

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CHAPTER 1

I glanced up toward the ceiling and strangely missed seeing the budding leaves from the Flauvic tree. This spring, like the last one, seemed rather barren without the tree in the Throne Room. My "daring" exploit with Lord Flauvic, the former goldenwood tree that sat on the dais, had earned me courtly acclaim for a while two years ago. My parents never did start sitting up on the dais, like the rulers of the past had. No, they still sat on cushions in front of it, as always.

Today's Petitioner's Court was as alternately dull, and interesting, as usual. Some of the problems brought before my parents and brother- for he is training especially hard this year for his future kingly duties since Father had gotten so sick this past winter- were mundane and completely boring. What did it matter who the pig belonged to, so long as no one went hungry for the want of it? Couldn't they share the profit of the pig if it sold at market, or the meat that came when it was butchered? And Mother said much the same thing. Others were quite interesting. Oria would have been fascinated with the issue of several of the local mages asking for a grant to establish a school for mages on the southern coast of Remalna, but she was away at Pyranarya Academy.

All in all, it was a typical session, with Alaraec sitting on Father's right, Mother to Father's left, and then me. We sat on cushions, as did many of the spectators in the Throne Room. We listened for the first green, and half of the second. We were nearly done for the day, since the petitioners had trickled off, when we received a surprise.

The doors at the end of the room were opened by the guards, and, with an armed escort, Flauvic Merindar walked in.

I was floored. Or, I would have been, were I not already on the floor. I don't think that there was a jaw in the room that didn't drop. I could feel Mother beside me go tense, which is never a good sign.

I took a moment to look over Flauvic. The two years that he had been gone hadn't been kind to him. He looked worse for wear; still breath-stealingly gorgeous, but definitely worse for wear. He was in common clothing, ragged from constant use, and he didn't look as if he had washed, much less seen a razor in weeks. Some time along these years he had cut his pale locks short. They were now hanging down to his chin in greasy hanks. One thing that hadn't changed was the confident, aristocratic, arrogant expression on his face.

He didn't spare me a glance, which actually hurt. I was the one he'd kidnapped, after all. I would have thought that merited at least a passing "oh-there-you-are."

"Well, well, well," Mother snapped. "Someone finally turn in the bounty on his head?"

Father gave her a warning look, but he wasn't given the chance to say anything, because one of the guardsmen spoke up.

"No, Your Majesty, he walked through the Gate of his own accord."

This didn't surprise me as much as it did Mother and Alaraec . Father and I flicked a glance at each other to see if we were thinking the same thing. We were: we knew he'd come back on his own.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Flauvic sneered. "I have returned home all by myself, but thank you for sending out patrols to find me. It was most gracious of you."

This time, Father put a hand on her shoulder before Mother could let slip anything else. "Where have you been these few years, Cousin?" he asked.

Flauvic sighed dramatically.

"Ah, hither and yon, Vidaneric," he answered. "First it was Sartor, then Norsunder, and then, just for good measure, I went to Sles Adran. After that, oh, about four months ago, I simply wandered around. I found myself heading this way more than any other, so I decided to follow my feet. Look where they've brought me."

"Now that you've come back," Mother asked, "what do you expect us to do? Welcome you with open arms?"

He leered at her as if she were younger than the age he appeared. It was a strange sensation I got in the pit of my stomach, something akin to eating too many sweets. Yes, I thought to myself, he's still utterly disgusting.

"Open arms?" Flauvic repeated. "I wouldn't complain. But, honestly, Your Majesties, what do you think you are going to do with me? Try me for a crime nearly twenty years out of date?"

"How about one that occurred two years ago?" Mother asked, trying to match his careless tone.

Now he looked at me. He let his eyes take in the very few changes that had taken place since he last saw me. My chest was...not as flat. My hair...was longer now. Basically, he just looked at me. I resisted the urge to wave mockingly. No one would get my humor anyway.

"She seems to have come through unscathed," he observed.

I narrowed my eyes at him in what I hoped was a furious glare. He seemed to find that rather amusing, and his mouth quirked up at the edges.

Father caught my attention. I didn't know what he was thinking, but I could tell that it was one his favorite "learn by doing" experiments. I had the distinct feeling that I was about to be put on the spot and there was nothing I could do to save myself.

"Elestra?"

"Yes?"

"If you were in the position to dole out Lord Flauvic's punishment, what would your decision be?"

"But it's not my place to pass that judgment," I said, trying to sidestep the question.

"I am making it your place," Father informed me and the Court, as well as Flauvic. "What ever you decide to do with him shall be done."

I looked at him like he was mad, but just barely managed to resist saying so out loud. The Court started humming with confusion and anticipation. I ventured a quick peek at Flauvic to see what his reaction was, and found that it nearly matched mine. Neither of us had expected this odd turn of events.

We locked eyes for a moment, and then his arrogant, conceited mask slipped back into place. I was incredibly annoyed that he did that, but couldn't think why.

I took several deep breaths, trying to determine what the best course of action was. Did he deserve to be punished? Yes, of course. But how much?

"I...I think that, despite the emotional and physical damage that was done to the kingdom, and to individuals in this room, Lord Flauvic's original crimes have been paid for. Twenty years as a tree is enough."

Again, whispers spread through the Throne Room like a breeze that someone's artfully tickled into a small fit. I looked at Flauvic again and found him silently laughing at me. I could tell that he thought that I was letting him go free, whether from some misplaced sense of companionship, or because I was infatuated with him, or whatever image his mind was tossing about. I glared back at him. I wasn't through with him just yet.

"So, Elestra, you plan on pardoning him?" Father asked carefully.

"No," I answered clearly. The noise in the room died down almost immediately. "I wasn't finished yet, regardless of what the Court thinks. I was also a victim of Lord Flauvic, and I demand retribution. You have just given me leave to be judge and executioner, and I am not done yet."

Now the room was silent. They were unsettled at my quiet statement. I had finally put the fear of me in them. Even Flauvic was no longer laughing. I took a second to revel in it.

"Please, continue," Father said. When I looked over at him, I saw that he was slightly unsure of himself. He had thought he knew what my choice was going to be, but he hadn't expected those words to ever come out of my mouth.

I looked at Mother. She was torn. Half of her was supporting me all the way to a death sentence for my kidnapping. The other half, the half that was a good and fair queen, knew that that decision was too harsh, but she didn't have any control over the matter, since Father had put it in my hands.

I smirked out over my audience. I tried not to, but it still crept out.

"Two hundred years ago, the daughter of Baron Eglestum of Herrinoedma was kidnapped and held for ransom for three weeks," I said, feeling special for knowing my history. "When the kidnappers were caught, they were sentenced to death. Two were hung from the battlements, and one was crushed under the weight of large stones piled one at a time on top of him until his ribs broke and punctured his lungs." I had added that last description for emphasis. "That seems a bit harsh for this situation, seeing as the Baron's daughter was tortured and mutilated so that her abductors could send pieces of her back to her family to reiterate-" I found Father looking at me pointedly. I cut myself short and cleared my throat before starting again. "Anyway, as Lord Flauvic pointed out, I came through my ordeal with only minor bruises, none of which were inflicted by him, and a dirty gown. I have decided that Lord Flauvic should spend the next year and a half as a palace servant. It is my hope that this shall teach him a sense of respect, and he will work off the price of that dress he made me ruin in my forced flight from the palace."

I grinned impishly. I couldn't help it. I was completely serious in my sentence, but it was just too much fun seeing the look on everyone's faces.

"Of course, if Lord Flauvic finds the thought of a year and a half of physical labor to be too much for his delicate, finicky stomach to take," I said as sweetly as possible, "I'm sure I could be persuaded to rely on the crushing-by-stones punishment. Which ever is my lord's preference."

I saw the proud looks both of my parents gave me. I was quite proud of myself, too. I met Flauvic square in the eye and gloated a tiny bit. He glared back, and I laughed silently at him, just as he'd laughed at me earlier.

"Well, Cousin?" Father asked, his voice as subdued and controlled as always. "Which will it be? A year and a half as a servant in Athanarel, or being crushed by stones piled upon you one at a time until your ribs break and puncture your lungs?"

Everyone in the Court got a small chuckle out of that. I noticed Flauvic's face contort the smallest fraction. It was then that I realized just what it was costing him to stand there and let everyone laugh at him. He had probably never been laughed at in his life as he was today. I felt sorry that I had caused it, seeing now that I was behaving toward him like everyone in my life had ever acted toward me. They thought that the jokes and barbs aimed were all in good fun. They didn't realize how much they hurt. And now I had acted just like them. It made me feel a little ashamed.

Flauvic lifted his head and acknowledged the joke as if he had been the mastermind behind it all the time. "Of course, Danric, I take the year and a day. What fool chooses death over getting to lick the boots of those he would once have ruled over?"

"Then you start your time as of tomorrow," Father announced. "For the remainder of the day, you can get moved into the Servants' Wing, and get food and a bath. Someone will wake you tomorrow morning and show you to your new duties."

"And I shall have someone with me at all times, to make sure that I don't try something dastardly, I'm sure," Flauvic drawled.

I watched as the guards lead him out of the Throne Room. He never looked over his shoulder to even give me an eyebrow scorching glare. He walked out as proud and regal as I had ever seen him, and probably anyone else. I hoped his palace uniform itched him like crazy and that he got hives from the material.


	2. Aftermath and Dinner

Pre-story A/N: Thank you to everybody who reviewed. I LOVE YOU!!!!!! It's always so great to know that people like what I write. Gives me a nice warm, tingly feeling inside, in the non-sexual kinda way. I don't really do long write-backs to reviewers, so I'm only going to answer the one's that made the biggest impression.

Meghan8- THANX! I capture his Flauvic-ness...I like that. Just a warning in case you really don't like him: he does become a good guy by the end, it just takes a lot of hard work... and some shoveling. Keep reading!

Wake-Robin- This is from waaaay back in Short Snippet: I was worried about poisoning, too, but I think I thought of a way around that. I hope. So glad we're on the same page.

Emerald-random- Again, from SS: sheepish look Well... It's not entirely from Flauvic's POV, but as it gets closer to the end I find myself going to his view more and more. I hope you like.

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CHAPTER 2- Aftermath and Dinner

After Petitioners' Court ended, I was surrounded by courtiers who wanted to congratulate and denounce me for my decision, ask about what it had been like to be abducted by Flauvic, and to gossip with me. As you might expect, Tara of Savona was the leader of the gossipers.

"Well, I must say, I think he was much prettier as a tree!" she giggled. "Honestly! Did you ever see someone so dirty and gritty? Everything I had ever heard of Lord Flauvic was that he was amazingly handsome. I'm completely disappointed!"

"Just wait until he's clean," I said drolly. "He's much more impressive that way."

Tara's pale gold eyebrows inched up in speculation. I blushed. I didn't want her to think that I had any sort of inclination toward that man.

"It's only the truth," I said. "He is lovely, but he's not very nice."

After that, I was pretty much ignored. The real topic was Flauvic; I was just a temporary focus. I left my peers and drifted over to where my parents and older brother were talking with the Duke and Duchess of Savona, the Duchess of Grumareth, and my aunt and uncle. They saw me coming and Mother and Father smiled.

"That was impressive, Elestra," Father complimented. "I'm very proud of you. You showed mercy, but still you knew what needed to be done."

"And you made him sweat for a moment there," Mother smirked.

I laughed.

"We were all holding our breaths for a few moments," Alaraec said. "I never would have imagined that you had it in you to keep us in such suspense. I was worried that you would order Flauvic's head to be cut off right here in the Throne Room with everyone watching."

"I considered it," I admitted. "But I think that everyone deserves a second chance. After all, he told us himself that he went to see all of his old allies and none of them offered to help him. He has nowhere else to go."

Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking that over.

Savona shook his head and chuckled lightly.

"Well, this'll certainly be a new experience for him," he said. "I wonder how he's going to get on with all that work he'll be doing. I'd wager that he'll make a run for it before the first week is up."

"I never try to guess what Flauvic will be up to," Father said. "I am too often wrong."

I stayed with the adult group until the bell for first blue rang and we all went our separate ways. I walked back to my rooms and changed out of my elaborate, blue Court dress and into a riding habit. I had finished my lessons for the day, and didn't have much else to do. I went to the stables and found my cousin Kitten there, already mounted up, along with a few other young courtiers. I waved to them and went to get my horse, Bluewood, a descendent of my father's famous grey.

I was invited along with them to ride, but I declined. I was more in the mood for a solitary ride. I needed to think. Before I rode off, Phillo Keradec, red haired and thin, one of my cousin's suitors, invited me to a party that he was throwing next week. I agreed to come, and then left in the direction of the old ruins that had once been Merindar House. I found myself going there to think a lot. Today, I wondered what would happen it Flauvic did complete his year and a half. What would be done then? Would Father give him back his lands? Would he have to go out into the world and fend for himself? Should he even have been given a second chance? What if he tried to take over the kingdom again? What if he tried to hurt my family?

I had so many questions, but nobody had an answer for me. Except maybe Flauvic himself, but I doubted that he would be sharing his plans any time soon. I was going to have to wait and see what happened. I hated waiting. Patience has never been one of my virtues.

When I noticed rain clouds gathering in the west I turned Bluewood back toward Athanarel. I had dinner with my family that night, as usual, and privately marveled at how little disruption Flauvic was actually causing. Everything seemed to be going on as usual, like nothing had happened. The gossip was different, but no more than the usual amount.

I was tempted to ask Father what Flauvic's first duties would be. I didn't think that he would be getting the easy jobs just yet. I had a feeling that Mother would make sure that for the first month or so he would be mucking out the stables, or polishing every piece of silver in the palace, or something equally tiring and straining.

After we had finished with our meal, Alaraec went to the library archives to double check my story on Baron Eglestum's daughter. Oria was away at school, still, and I missed her, brat that she could be at times. Father put a hand on my shoulder and led me off to one side while Mother went to speak with a servant who was clearing away our dishes.

"I thought that you might like to know, Flauvic will be spending his first month of service in the palace kitchens," he said softly.

I nodded. "I figured it would be something like that," I confided. I frowned when a thought occurred to me. "You do know that this makes it easier for him to poison us?"

Father laughed. "It does, but I don't think he'll get the chance. He'll be scrubbing pots and taking out the garbage. He will never get close enough to the food to poison us, and I have seven of my best, along with the entire kitchen staff, watching him like a kingfisher watches trout."

That made me laugh. He escorted me back to my rooms and said good-night. He and Mother still had things to do before they went to bed, and I needed to tell Maureen that I would need a new dress for Phillo's party next week. That entailed choosing material, color, style, and embroidery patterns, and would likely take the rest of the night. Have I mentioned how much I hate court functions?

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Post-story A/N: I think I forgot to title the first chapter. It was called "Hello Again." Just so you know. As for this chap, if you liked it, go review and tell me so. If you didn't like it, go review and tell me how to fix it. I apologize for any type-o's. Word Processor is supposed to catch them, but sometimes I don't pay attention to the little red squigglies.


	3. Second Cousin, Once Removed

Pre-A/N: Thank you, everyone who keeps reviewing. Sorry it took so long to up-date. This weekend I was on a college visit to the University of Evansville, where I'll be this fall. Then Monday I was working on a side project.

Here's the third chapter, and I have to tell you all something, since it seems like you're in it for the long haul, at this point. This fic is longer than I ever intended. Long chapters, and there are already 25 of them. I'm not quite done yet. Be afraid.

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CHAPTER 3- Second Cousin, Once Removed

It was a nearly three months before I saw Flauvic again. He had completed his time in the kitchens without a hitch. I heard from one of the regular kitchen staff that he hadn't even complained. I was surprised and strangely proud when I heard it.

The air was dry, but hot at the outdoor party thrown by Tara. She was half a year past her Flower Day, already, so she was showing off more than she had been for the entire time I knew her, which should say a lot. I stood as out of the way of the festivities as possible, not wanting it to be made blatantly obvious that I was never going to be one of the pretty, popular girls. If I could just stay out of the way, I could say that I was at the party, I had a wonderful time, and, yes, the ice sculpture of Tara looked marvelous, exactly like her; and no one would try to make me tell jokes, or play the male lead in a spur of the moment drama they had concocted for us to perform.

Flauvic had moved from hard labor to the more comfortable server position. He was at the party, observing everyone, while carrying glasses of wine and champagne. He was just as stunning as ever, his hair clean and golden, the reddish undertones catching the torchlight, and hanging so that it was long enough to be unique, but still in fashion. He made the servant's uniform look like the best custom made suit any of the young men were wearing. He wasn't doing very well at his new duties as he had been as a kitchen hand; he kept drawing attention away from the party, and without even acting like he was a part of it.

I watched with amusement as girl after girl stared at him and tried to decide whether or not they should try to flirt. On one hand, he was the infamous Lord Flauvic serving out his punishment at Court, and a servant, to boot. On the other hand, he was the handsomest of the young men at the party and still technically a courtier. It was quite amusing, and I was very glad that I wasn't having those problems. I nearly laughed out loud when Tara finally made the first bold move to speak with him.

"L-lord Flauvic," she crooned. "I'm ashamed that one of your stature should be serving drinks at one of my parties, instead of enjoying the festivities. I do wish that the circumstances of our meeting were anything else."

He bowed his head, and when he straightened he hesitated, then decided to speak.

"You are Tara of Savona, aren't you? Lord Savona and Lady Tamara's daughter?"

She was pleased and blushed coyly.

"Yes, indeed," she dropped her voice to a near purr. If I hadn't been skulking near a tree not four paces away from them I would have missed it.

Flauvic resettled his tray of glasses so that it balanced one-handed and took Tara's hand, bowed over it, and kissed her knuckles lightly, just as he had kissed the maid's hand at the inn he'd taken me to on our way to the boarder. Tara blushed darker, and this time I think that part of it was real.

"May I say," Flauvic matched her, intimate tone for intimate tone, "you sound every bit as appealing in person as your voice did when I was still a goldenwood tree in the Throne Room."

My eyebrows shot up and I had to cover my mouth, remembering that he had said that Tara had sounded like an insect, always whining. Tara, herself, looked very pleased, and dropped a small curtsy before sauntering off to her friends to tell them some version of what had just happened.

To my surprise, Flauvic caught my eye as he passed, going back to where the other servants were caring for the food and drink supplies. He flicked his gaze to where

Tara had walked off to, then brought them back to me. The corner of his mouth quirked up and I shared the private joke with him.

When he walked away I was still smiling. The entire exchange lasted less than a second, but it lifted my spirits for the rest of the party. Not so much that we had made fun of Tara without her knowing, but that someone didn't think that she was the epitome of everything a woman should be.

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The next week my parents cornered me on the subject of my own Flower Day celebration. I had been avoiding the topic for over a month. I didn't see the point in throwing a ball to let everyone know that I was an official woman now, look at me, look at me; not when I knew that it wouldn't change anyone's mind about me. I would still be funny Princess Elestra, the one with the guts.

"Come now, Elestra," Mother cajoled. "It's a right of passage that all young women must go through. It signifies your blooming from a girl into a woman. And it gives us a reason to give you gifts."

I chuckled. We both knew that I didn't want anything; or, what I did want no one could give me, which was... what was it, anyway?

"Elestra," Father said. "This will be the first Flower Day of a royal princess of the Renselaeus line upon the throne of Remalna. We need to set an example of prosperity and concord, if nothing else."

Mother and I made the same nasty face, which made him laugh and rethink his statement.

"Alright, alright! Life! The looks on your faces," he chucked. "How about this? We are so very proud of the fine, intelligent, beautiful woman you have become these past few years that we want to show you off. Better?"

I sighed, wishing that Father wasn't so good at diplomacy sometimes. I agreed to have my stupid party, but we compromised, pushing the date back for another three months, and I got to come up with my own theme for the party.

I decided to go out for a walk. Maybe I would go to the archives and see how my ancestresses had spent their Flower Days. I might even get an idea of how to plan my own. If not, I would stop by Tara's rooms and ask her to lend her all powerful opinion to my dilemma.

I opened the tapestry to the library to see Flauvic, one hand raised to a high shelf, the other full of books. I was surprised to see him. He turned to glance at me, saw who it was and narrowed his eyes.

"You," he sneered, lowering his hand to pick up another book.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sound superior. "I thought you were carrying glasses."

"They needed extra help for the buzzing beauty's little gala," he said dryly. "That was the only reason I was there. I am now re-shelving books, and I have you to thank for it. Do you know how tedious this is?"

"Very, I'm sure," I rolled my eyes.

I moved passed him and started for the archive where the diaries of past royalty sat and musted.

"What are you looking for?" Flauvic asked. "I've seen every book this library holds at this point."

"I'm looking for ideas for the theme of my Flower Day celebration that my parents insist on throwing for me," I answered, turning around to face him again.

His eyebrows came together slightly.

"I didn't think that you were that old yet. You don't look it."

"I have a baby face," I said, turning back around.

I heard him clear his throat behind me.

"Since it is a Flower Day celebration, you could try something with relation to plants," he suggested, shelving another book.

I slowly turned back to him, hands on my hips and a distrusting expression on my face.

"And what exactly might that be?" I asked sardonically.

Flauvic resettled the books in the crook of his left arm.

"Well," he thought for a moment. "Each person who comes to the ball could come representing a different kind of plant. The men could come as ferns, or moss, or ivy, briars, what ever they chose. The ladies could be flowers themselves. Starliss, violets, roses, and the like. Each flower person brings you the flower or foliage that they represent."

I stood in quiet thought for a moment. It was a good idea, drat him. And it certainly was original.

"I'll think about it," I said.

He smirked, knowing that I was going to use his idea. He reached up to replace another book, but missed his intended target and the book tumbled down, bringing several others with it. Flauvic ducked. I jumped at the first loud impact on the floor. The old books let loose a cloud of dust that danced in the light from the open window, causing Flauvic to sneeze repeatedly.

"Good health," I told him automatically, chuckling a little.

He sent me a mild glare, which only made me grin wider. I looked around the room for a stool used to get books down from those high shelves. It would work just as well to put them back. I found one in the far corner just as Flauvic was picking up the extra books that he would be putting back. I trotted over and back before he tried to stretch and kill himself again.

"Here, hand me the books one at a time," I said, climbing up on the stool. He looked surprised, but handed me the first book, pointing where it should go. In a few moments, all of the books were back in their proper places. I looked down at Flauvic and smirked.

"How long would you have gone on without thinking to get a stool, huh?"

"Probably until I had brained myself with a very thick memoir," he said dryly.

I laughed and climbed the two small stairs down. When I refocused on him again, Flauvic was giving me a speculative look that reminded me a little of Father. It was then that I remembered that they did share blood.

"I know that you and Father are cousins, but how, exactly, are you related?" I asked.

He had to think about it for a moment. "His mother's father was my father's mother's sister. He and I are second cousins."

"So... Does that make us third cousins?"

He seemed a bit startled by the implication. "I suppose," he shrugged. "Maybe second cousins once removed."

I nodded, although I'd never really understood the concept of "once removed."

A tap came from outside the tapestry. A tall, balding man with a barrel chest and green eyes came into the room. Flauvic immediately tensed, though not noticeably unless you weren't standing right next to him, and I wondered why.

"You done yet?" the intruder asked.

I disliked him immediately.

"Finished and awaiting your orders," Flauvic drawled. "Princess, allow me to introduce my warden, Geoff. Geoff, Princess Elestra."

The warden bowed awkwardly. I curtsied to him, and then to Flauvic, and took my leave. I was suddenly reminded that Flauvic was being punished for a crime, and that I shouldn't be speaking with him under any circumstances. I couldn't figure out how I had forgotten that in the first place.

When I told Mother the idea for the party she was so excited that she started sending out messages to craftsmen and entertainers that day. I didn't see the need to tell her where I'd gotten the idea. I was still dreading the actual event, but Mother had a way of doing things that inspired enthusiasm, so I went along with her every step of the way.

We planned for the invitations to be sent out three weeks before the party, so we had nine weeks to make sure that everything would support "my" ideal theme. In the mean time, the Court was getting guests from Colend, Norsunder, and Denlieff; ambassadors and diplomats come to make alliances and reaffirm Remalna's stand in everything going on in the world to date. Boring, but necessary politics.


	4. Why do I keep running into you?

Pre-A/N: Of course, thanks to everyone who reviewed and keeps on doing so. You rock my socks off! Shoes, too! Hell, take it all!

bri: "Beauty" is a short story about Mel and Vidanric's daughter Elestra- as you can tell from reading my story. It's in an anthology book of short stories by authors who are published through Firebird, titled (what else?) Firebirds. I found it at the library, so you can probably order it through them if it's not at your local one.

SoccerFreak2516: Thanks for all that. I was kinda hoping that nobody else would use the servant angle. I just thought to myself- what would no one expect Flauvic to ever want to do? Something that could be really fun to play with? And, trust me, the chapters get longer the farther in we go.

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CHAPTER 4- Why do I keep running in to you?

It turned out that Flauvic's idea for my party not only worked, but that it inspired the Court to cultivate, no pun intended, an interest in flowers and herbology. After I had discussed my theme to Kitten and a few others who were naturally privy to such things, salons were held that revolved around plant types and whether a specific one would be considered male or female. It was decided that moss, verbena, fern, ryegrass, lemongrass, and everything that had the word "grass" in it were usually male by strength of name and connotation. Roses, starliss, forget-me-nots, viola, sunrose, and lilies were clearly feminine, while cosmos, sage, larkspur and ivy could easily be either. Outside of the few people I had told, who were very good at keeping secrets, everyone else just thought that it was the new fad.

I saw Flauvic a few times in those few months in the corridors and at parties where they needed him to carry things. We barely acknowledged each other, but it was always important that for us skim a crowd for one another. I was the one that had given his punishment, and so I was an annoyance at least, a mild danger at worst; or, at least, that's the way I saw it. He was the first person I had ever made fear me and that I had some semblance of control over, so that was an unfortunately sadistic ego boost for me.

I only talked with him one other time, though. I was in the servants passage, trying to escape from a mindless, "aren't-I so-lovely-and-don't- you-want-to-be-twoing-with-me" party- trying to be passed off as a diplomatic soiree- of Lady Calissma's, the ambassador from Colend, as fast a possible without anyone actually noticing that I was gone until the party was over, and then they would all just assume that I had left a little earlier than everyone else, not right in the middle of it. Flauvic was going in the opposite direction and we nearly had a collision as we rounded a corner.

"Burn it! Do you watch where you're going at all?" he asked. I don't even think that he realized that it was me at first.

"I'm sorry, but it's not as if you saw me either," I snapped.

He squinted at my face in the dim light and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you in here and not at the party?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you kidding? Stay in there with every woman trying to distract all of the men from fanaticizing about the Lovely Lady Calissma?"

He smirked. "Feeling inadequate?" he sneered.

I ducked my head and blushed. I was feeling inadequate, and standing next to someone as beautiful as the Colendrian ambassador only made it worse. I cleared my throat and decided to change the topic.

"I think I'll ask Father if there's enough money in the budget this year to get more light in these passages. Honestly, I feel as if I were walking in a cave. Look how easy it was for us to practically collide. That's a safety hazard, you know."

Flauvic shook his head. "You are very odd," he observed.

I curtsied.

After that he moved off and I continued on to my room. I spent the next candle writing in my journal and narrowing down my choices of streamers to put in the ballroom we would be using for my Flower Day party.

***^^^***^^^***

The other two ambassadors, as well as Lady Calissma, attended Petitioner's Court to observe how Remalna dealt out its judgments. Lord Rathimon of Denlieff usually took a place by the windows to watch. He was a tall, lanky, middle-aged man with silvering brown hair and a neat, trim mustache. He dressed conservatively, but then, he was married and was no longer trying to impress anyone, according to Tara. In contrast, the delegate from Norsunder, Lord Nerroc, was younger, late twenties, and he held fashion like an idol. He was dark-haired, grey-eyed, and kept his face clean shaven. He was average height, but his broad shoulders and long legs made you think that he was taller. He was very proud, and reminded my of a certain second cousin, once removed. He was every bit as charmed by Lady Calissma as the rest of the court was. She had long, dark auburn hair and fair skin. Her royal blue eyes made Tara seethe with jealousy, and her ample curves made the mountain roads to Tlanth look straight.

One month before my party, Petitioner's Court was held and all of the ambassadors got their chance to participate in the decisions. I sat next to Mother and listened while a potential miller and a farmer debated hotly about the prospect of building a dam in a brook that fed the farmer's water supply. Damming the brook would let the potential miller open his business, providing commerce and flour for his community. The farmer argued that building the dam would take water away from his crops and animals, and the eventual runoff would poison his stock.

"Can't the farmer simply find another water source?" Lord Nerroc suggested during third green while we had all convened in the Rose Room.

"If he could, I very much doubt that he would be urging us so greatly against letting the miller build his dam," Mother said icily.

"I suppose that it would be much too costly to divert half of the brook to the farmer's land, and half of it to where the miller wants to build his mill?" asked Lord Rathimon.

"Costly, yes, but it may be the only solution that appeals to both of them," Father said. "If we can think of anything else, I would rather take another path. I don't really think that any city or town wants to let more than twenty young men go to build a trench for diverted water, especially with the good farming year we've had so far."

"Perhaps you could speak to the miller," Lady Calissma shrugged. "See if he will be willing to move the site for his mill downstream of the other man's farm; that way both of them are happy. The miller may have to tote his flour further to market, but that's not such a hardship, really."

"And if he's not?" Savona asked.

"Then we shall have to divert the brook," Father concluded. "But I will first strongly suggest that the miller move his site downstream. My thanks to Lady Calissma for the suggestion."

Everyone seemed duly impressed by the suggestion. I rolled my eyes. I averted my gaze as Alaraec made a cake of himself, going to congratulate Lady Calissmaon her wit and wisdom. Apparently even some of the most sensible males I knew weren't immune to the ambassador's charms.

It wasn't until then that I noticed Flauvic. He was standing in the far corner, and I wondered if he was supposed to be there at all. He didn't look like he was waiting on anyone. I held my breath waiting for something to happen.

I watched as Geoff walk over to him and pointedly redirect Flauvic to his job. Flauvic moved away from the wall and started to walk toward the servants putting out more food. It was then that Lord Nerroc must have seen him, too.

"Well! This is a surprise!" he called out. "If it isn't the former Lord Flauvic of Merindar. What are you doing carrying trays? I would have assumed that, upon entrance to Athanarel, you would have been taken to the gallows and put to death, not to lose your pride by becoming a servant."

He had said it loud enough so that everyone heard it, and couldn't possibly ignore. I shut my eyes and shook my head. When I looked up again, Flauvic was glaring at me, probably hoping that the strength of his hatred could cause fatal harm. He switched his attention to Lord Nerroc, wiping his face of any emotion.

"After your king refused to give me asylum, I really didn't have much faith in old alliances," he said smoothly. "My current position is temporary."

"Look on the bright side, Flauvic," Nerroc smirked, "whether wearing silk, bark or burlap, you are still one of the prettiest people in the room."

I was going to be sick if I didn't say something.

"Lord Nerroc, really," I sugar coated my smile, "you are considered quite good looking yourself, and such a personality to match. If you keep attempting to insult Lord Flauvic we may have a duel on our hands, and I'm not at all sure how a duel to prove physical graces would be preformed in the first place."

The court laughed at my joke, I think. They may have been laughing at me, but either way it got the attention off of Flauvic. I shot him an apologetic look and motioned for Geoff to let him leave. To my surprise, Flauvic shook his head and stayed to finish serving. Everyone pointedly ignored him for the rest of the period.

Once, Flauvic passed with a tray of fruit near where I had moved to sit in the sun, away from the rest of the assembly. I looked up at him and mouthed, as discretely as possible, "I'm sorry." His face was still utterly blank, but he walked over to me and held out the plate. I took a strawberry, still putting on an apologetic expression. I think he forgave me, but then again, maybe he was plotting my painful death. It was always so difficult to tell with him.


	5. Ondala Flower

PRE-A/N: Hello. Where did you all go?!? I got a full ONE review last chapter. I am angry. I considered not putting this chap up until I saw a better show of support, but I decided to update anyway, cuz I like my story. It's just a really short chapter. Yes, this is an attempt at a guilt trip. You don't love me!!!! ='(

Disclaimer: Charac's are not mine, 'cept the ones that are. Oh, and _the part in italics _is a letter that Elestra reads.

* * *

CHAPTER 5- The Ondala Flower

A week later my invitations were sent out. I got word back from everyone that they would attend and that they were thrilled at the prospect of coming as flowers for my Flower Day. I was measured for my new gown that I was going to wear for the ball, and tried to be enthusiastic when in reality I was dreading the prospect of having to walk down the stairs in the ballroom that Mother and I had picked.

Maureen tried to keep my spirits up by gushing over my new dress at every opportunity. It was a periwinkle blue with little forget-me-nots embroidered into the bodice and skirt. The style was in the height of fashion now, set by Tara and Lady Calissma, and would alternately poof and cling to my every curve; there were even ruffles at the sleeves and at the back of the skirt. Except that I didn't have any curves and so it looked like I was a little girl who had gotten into her mother's closet and my mother just happened to be as tall as I was, which was completely backwards from reality. I was nearly four fingers taller than she was.

On a sunnier note, the ballroom that we'd picked was decked out in light blue, lavender, silver, white, and matching periwinkle streamers, as well as beautiful, commercial gardens, as well as the outside gardens, as one ingenious artisan suggested that we open the glass doors to one side of the ballroom and expand the space using the natural gardens out doors. The decorators had taken the theme and transformed the marble hall and outside scenery into mythical gardens worthy of any heroic tale or ballad. Everyone I knew would match a flower in the decorations. I wondered if it would be considered bad manners if I skipped out on my own party halfway through.

***^^^***^^^***

The day of my ball was bright and clear. It was absolutely beautiful weather for such an occasion, if you asked any of my friends. The late summer sun was golden and warm, and there wasn't a chance of rain anytime soon. Could I fake sickness to get out of this ball?

I spent from breakfast through second green in the training yards with fencing partner after fencing partner, mostly winning, and only once getting trounced like a novice, and that was by a veteran soldier of Father's army. Once the bells for third green had rung, I went to the stables and collected Bluewood. We went for as long a ride as I dared to be back in time to get ready for The Ordeal.

I was, unfortunately, in my rooms before the bell for first blue rung. I was going to take a quick bath, almost unheard of for me- the quick part, not the bath part; I love baths. I believe that anyone who can bathe in under twenty minutes is doing something wrong.

When I got back to my bedroom, I found an elaborately wrapped box on my bed. My dress for the ball was hanging on the sewing dummy at the side of the bed, so I dropped the towel and got on my underthings, all the time casting looks at the box, wondering what the box could be. I assumed that it was an early gift from Mother or Father. Before I put my dress on, my curiosity overcame me and I went to see what my present was.

I un-did the beautiful silver ribbon and took the lid off of the box. Lying on top of folded tissue paper clouding my view of the gift was a letter in handwriting I didn't recognize.

_There is a flower native to Sles Adran, known as the Ondala flower. It is considered a great blessing if it grows in your garden and is a symbol of good luck. This is because the Ondala flower has no seed. It cannot be purposefully grown or cultivated. It springs up only for those who are in need of luck, hope, and have faith. These flowers grow in gardens among the proper, ordinary flowers like a common weed, but they are never pulled out for fear of driving away the gift that they bring with them. The petals of the Ondala are silvery-white, and the fern-like leaves are deep emerald. _

_Happy Flower Day, Princess Elestra.  
_  
It wasn't signed. I raised an eyebrow and pulled back the paper. I gasped as I realized what the gift was. It was a stunning silver-white silk dress. I pulled it out and gasped again. It was like none of the dresses I had seen at court...ever. I didn't know where it came from, but I had to try it on. At least once.

I started to pull the dress on, very carefully. I didn't want to accidentally rip it. Once it was on, I turned to the mirror. My heart stopped for a second, then sped up. I couldn't believe what was staring back at me.

The dress was sleek and streamline. It didn't poof anywhere, but hugged my body to my hips and only there did it flare, just a little, so that I could walk easily, and continued on down close to my thighs, then widened further at the knee. There was a short train on the dress, and a slight petticoat effect in deep, emerald green underneath the silver. The oval cut of the neck somehow drew the attention to my chest and it looked bigger. The sleeves were long, but they didn't touch my arms from the elbow down, instead they flowed into long bells. The embroidery was silver and white in the shapes of some unknown flower that I assumed to be the Ondala flower. There were no jewels on the dress to accent the embroidery, but that was fine by me; I'd always found them to heavy and stiff.

"Elestra, are you-" Mother called as she barged in. She stopped, frozen when she saw me.

"Where did this come from?" I asked her, still too awed to think of anything else.

"I...I don't know," she breathed. "You look so beautiful, sweeting. Just so...."

Maureen entered behind Mother and stopped to stare as well.

"Do you know where this came from?" I asked my maid.

"No, Your Highness," she said, almost too quickly, her eyes averted to the floor suddenly.

"Can I keep it, though?" I asked childishly.

"Of course you can!" Mother exclaimed. "I love this one much more than that other one. Now let's do your hair and finish the job. Do you have shoes?"

I didn't have any that would match this dress, so Mother sent for a pair of hers in silver that she was pretty sure would match. It was a good thing that she and I wear the same size shoe, and very lucky that the shoes matched.

Maureen and Mother used a combined effort on my hair, coaxing it to the right and managing to put it into an elaborate knot with diamonds, snowstones, emeralds, and jades embellishing. The ends of my hair were left to hang down past my shoulder in loose curls created with pomade that Maureen found who-knows-where and magic from Mother to keep my hair from losing the shape.

"Do you think I'll start a new fashion, Mother," I joked.

"Oh, yes, sweeting," she said in seriousness. "As your Aunt Nee once said to me, I want to watch it happen." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

Maureen added a touch of galena dust to my eyelids to make them shine, and beeswax mixed with fruit juice to my lips to add some darker color and made them shimmer. I put on diamond-drop ear bobs, but left that as my only jewelry. A sprits of perfume and I was ready to face my public.

The bells for second blue had already rung as I prepared myself at the top of the stairs for my decent. The other guests still couldn't see me because of a gauze curtain strung to make my grand unveiling seem more profound. For some reason, it felt more profound now than it had in rehearsals the past few days. Maybe it was the dress.

* * *

POST-A/N: Oh, come on! You know who sent the dress! All shall be reveled in time, though. Now GO REVIEW!!!! Don't make me have to remind you again. I'm a review miser, I'm tellin' ya.


	6. The Ball and Afterwards

PRE-A/N: There were quite a few reviews this time, so I have joy. ; ) For those of you who keep pushing for longer chapters, well here's the longest one to date. Hope you like it Remember to REVIEW!!!!!!!!!

Wake-Robin: Thanks for the support. Of course he did! Of course I'll keep updating. I like my story.

Adiralinnet: I understand the no time to update thing. I used to update and read during a ten-minute long homeroom, and now I'm at the library, where I get 45 minutes to read and review, so sometimes I don't make it, either.

nebula: Four fingers as in the width way. Like holding your hand up sideways and measure. I didn't think Sherwood made a Remalnan method of measuring, so I improvised.

Felsong: The squishy Flau/Eles scenes are comin'! Hold yer horses!

* * *

CHAPTER 6- The Ball, and Afterwards

_(break to parents)  
_  
Meliara watched as the gauze parted to reveal her daughter. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes welled. She took a deep breath to keep the tears back and beamed. Elestra looked so much like Ranisia. Looking around the room, Mel found that everyone else was thinking the same thing she was: Elestra had truly come into her own, and she was beautiful. The room was dumbfounded, absolutely silent as the princess started down the stairs, then broke into applause.

Mel looked up at Vidanric and saw his matching smile. He noticed her gaze and turned to her. She went on tip-toes to whisper in his ear, not wanting to distract attention from their daughter on her big night.

"I can't believe you got her that dress and didn't tell me."

Danric's eyebrows drew together. "You think I had the dress made for her?"

"Well who else?"

"Mel, I thought you had the dress made for her."

Now Meliara's face showed confusion. She opened her mouth to ask the obvious question, but the arrival of Savona and Tamara stilled her.

"Elestra looks beautiful!" Tamara complimented. "I never would have guessed her to be one who tries to start fashions."

"Yes, she's quite an amazing sight," Savona grinned, trying to soften his wife's comment.

"I was wondering who made the dress," Tamara asked. "It's a work of art, and it compliments her so well. She never did look very good in the dresses worn by the other girls. This one suits her."

"We were just wondering the same thing ourselves," Danric confided. "Neither of us had the dress made for her."

The group traded puzzled looks.

***^^^***^^^***

_(end break/ back to Elestra)  
_  
The room was silent as the grave when the gauze curtain went back. My stomach twisted into knots and I wondered if maybe I wasn't quite as acceptable as I had thought I was. Oh, well. Nothing I can do to change it now. I was the Princess with Guts, and was going to need them, it seemed like. I raised my chin and started down the stairs, hoping I wouldn't fall and humiliate myself.

I was so surprised when everyone started clapping. I mean, I knew that they were supposed to, it was tradition and ethics, but it felt like they were really clapping for me for once. I smiled out at them and somehow managed to make it down the stairs, though I was holding onto the banister for dear life. When I reached the bottom I was surrounded by friends, all holding out their flower of choice.

Tara was a blue rose. Kitten had come as a lily. Dierdre of Tyrend was starliss. I thought it was very appropriate since starliss used to mean 'ambition' and Dierdre had her sight set on my brother, the future king. Phillo was moss, Kerdrek of Mentigon was a red fern, and Susecs of Orbanith was listerblossem. They all asked me what the embroidery on my gown was; they had never seen a flower like that before. I noticed with a bit of satisfaction that the boys seemed to be concentrating on the embroidery on my chest. For a girl who'd never had much of a chest to begin with, I chose to take this as a compliment.

"It's called the Ondala flower," I said. "It's a symbol of luck and blessings in Sles Adran."

"Well, the dress is lovely," Tara said, not quite looking at me anymore. "Not at all in fashion, but then, you always had your own sense of style."

She moved away to mingle after that. If I didn't know better, I would almost say that she was jealous of me. Which was ridiculous. Tara knew that she had every unmarried man at court wrapped about her smallest finger. And a few of the attached ones were wrapped up, too.

Kitten stayed with me and we circled the floor talking, with her usual trail of swains. We mingled about, me collecting flowers and greenery as we went. There we several violets and roses. There were daises and one other I didn't recognize, from Lord Rathimon, called an anemone. He told me that it was brought over from another world and told me the myth about how it came to be; something about a boy who was so beautiful that he fell in love with his own reflection. I had to hide a smile as I thought about Flauvic. Would he ever fall in love with his own reflection? No, probably not. Still, it was funny to think about.

"This is quite an event, Princess Elestra," Lord Nerroc, the ambassador from Norsunder, complimented me. "We have something like this in Norsunder, as well, only we are not as creative as to present our young women with flowers so as to accent their beauty. Perhaps I should recommend it? It seems to show the Remalnan ladies off to such advantage."

He bowed and handed me pink carnation. I curtsied as I accepted it. He smiled and asked if he could join Kitten and I on our walk. We said that we would be delighted to have the company and he joined our little group.

Lady Calissma had come as a blue iris, decked out in ruffles and sapphires. She stood with Tara most of the evening, but did manage to pull herself away to hand me her flower with a courtesy dip.

"You look lovely, Your Highness."

I nodded to her as she moved to one side.

Shortly after, Kitten mentioned that she'd like to try some of the flower inspired delicacies at the buffet table. I told her to go and enjoy, I was going to visit some more. To my surprise, only half of the men with us went with her. The rest, including Nerroc, stayed with me.

"Really, you all can go with Kitten," I told them. "I don't mind. I was just going to go talk with Brenatta Khialem and her group."

"Princess Elestra, we would be poor guests indeed if we conversed solely with others and not the guest of honor," Nerroc said with a bow. The others agreed. I shrugged and continued walking.

I eventually did get a moment to myself. I was an expert at ducking out of crowds to find a spot near the edges to be alone. I went just outside of the big glass doors leading outside, which incorporated the outside garden with the inside one. There were lanterns set up along the walkways and on the small terrace to light the paths of strollers. I went to one side of the terrace to sit down on a bench and take a breath. Once the dancing had started I hadn't sat down once. I know it was because I was the guest of honor, but I was exhausted.

After a few moments I heard footsteps coming closer to me. I looked up to see Flauvic sidling over, watching inside to make sure that no one saw where he was. Apparently no one did.

"I felt that I ought to pay my respects," he said. "It is truly a magnificent ball."

I decided not to let him compliment himself, so I smirked up at him and said, "I simply improved upon your idea. I took your rough sketch and turned it into a masterpiece."

He waved his hand the fencer's salute for a good hit. I chuckled, then straightened and addressed him soberly. "No, really it was a very good idea, and thank you for it. I wouldn't have been able to come up with anything half so interesting."

He hesitated a moment, smiled faintly and dropped a deep bow. "You are most welcome."

I stood up from my seat and sighed. "I should get back inside. They're probably going to notice I'm not there soon. You know, I've come to realize that I much prefer not being the focus of attention. Not so many people watching in case I do something embarrassing."

"I noticed that you didn't stop by the refreshment table," he said, sounding like he was containing a bit of laughter.

"Are you mad?! In this dress?!" I exclaimed. "I'm not going near anyone who has food. Knowing me, I would spill something on it and ruin it."

He did laugh then. After a moment he regarded me seriously. "That really is a lovely dress. It looks much better on you than any of the current fashions would have. Let me guess, they tried to put you in something with frills?"

I nodded with a shudder.

"Elestra?"

I turned to the doors with a start. Some one had found me. I barely noticed Flauvic meld in with the scenery before Aminta Keradec, Phillo's sister, stepped onto the terrace.

"There you are," she greeted me. "We were looking all over for you. What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I was just resting from all that dancing," I explained. No need for her to know that I hadn't been entirely alone; she might get the wrong idea.

"Well, come back inside now, everyone was worried. Phillo was looking for you," Aminta confided. "I think you've stolen his heart tonight."

I snorted a laugh. "When I go back to being plain old Elestra we'll see just where his heart lies, won't we?"

"Oh, Elestra, you are not the least bit romantic, are you?" she scolded me.

I shook my head. "Not in the least."

We went back inside and I continued to dance with everyone who asked until nearly second white when the guests finally started to trickle out of the ballroom and to their own beds; or someone else's in some cases- no names. Finally, the last guest left and I could go to bed myself. Mother and Father waited to accompany me- please note that Alaraec had already left- and each one put an arm around my shoulders and waist as we exited. I glanced back once to see where Flauvic was. He was with a group of female servants, flirting and making them do most of the clean-up work. I sighed in slight irritation; he was pathetic.

"Well, aren't you glad we forced you to have your Flower Day celebration?" Mother asked teasingly.

"I could have gone without," I said mock-snidely, "but... I suppose it was fun. I do feel older. A bit."

"We love you," Father murmured, bending down to kiss the top of my head.

I smiled, glad that my family was always there for me, supporting me, forcing me to do things I sometimes didn't want to. I knew I'd never be alone with them here. "I love you, too."

When I entered my room again, I found another gift. This one was a smaller box with a card. The card was signed.

"This is a zinnia. It means "absent friends." Sorry that I couldn't be there for your big day, Elly. Love, Oria"

I smiled and put the card down. I figured that the flower was either dried, or that it was magiced to stay fresh, so I put off opening the box until morning.

Maureen carefully helped me out of the dress and went to hang it in my closet. I barely got my nightgown on before dropping into bed, fast asleep.

***^^^***^^^***

_(back to parents)  
_  
"Mel, I need to speak with Russav for a moment before bed, alright?" he asked her.

"What about?" she asked in return.

"I'll tell you in the morning," Danric promised. "It may be nothing, and I don't wish to worry you if it turns out to be me overreacting. Go on to bed, I'll be there soon."

"Alright," Mel frowned. "Don't be long."

"I won't."

In an alcove near the library the two cousins met to discuss what was worrying the king.

"You don't really think...?" Savona asked.

"I don't know, Russav, but what quicker way to the throne than to seduce the second in line, marry her, then have the heir have a planned accident," Danric said.

Savona whistled and shook his head.

"Yes, but... Elly's a smart girl, Vidanric. I don't think she'll fall for any of Flauvic's tricks."

"She is smart," he agreed. "And I do trust her, but she is still my daughter, and I can't help but worry. I know that they both met in the library a few months ago, by accident, from the report I got, but they were laughing, despite them both having reasons to dislike each other. And tonight, Flauvic tried to sneak out to the terrace, was out there for several minutes, and then Aminta Keradec went and brought Elestra inside when no one else knew that she was out there.

"That, and this is the same man who wanted to either kill my wife to get me to hand over the throne, before I had even taken it, or wanted to turn her into his whore. I can't forget that, either," Danric summed up.

"True," Savona said. "But I feel I need to ask: are you really worried about the throne, or is this a parental issue?"

"Both," Vidanric said.

"For the first," the duke sighed in thought, "I suggest that you place more spies around Flauvic so that he can go nowhere, night or day, without being watched. And I suggest that those spies get protective amulets to guard against magic being used on them. For the second, just trust your daughter. I have no doubt that, should Flauvic try to make a move on her, Elestra would hand him his head on a spit, and I don't mean the one that sits atop his shoulders."

The two men laughed and went their separate ways, back to their wives and to bed for a few hours sleep before the day started in earnest.

***^^^***^^^***

_(to Flauvic)  
_  
It was dawn before he was able to flop onto his barely comfortable pallet in the room in the Servant's Wing. He was beyond exhausted. Who knew that waiting on people was such work? He had volunteered for that position because he thought it would be easier than the kitchens or stacking things had been. Wrong again.

Despite his weariness, Flauvic couldn't drop off to sleep right away. He kept seeing Elestra come down the stairs in that dress. He had been glad that he still managed to have a few contacts left in Athanarel. True, they were only in the wardrobe department, but he would build from there. He had pulled the few strings left to him and gotten the dress made in relative secret just in time for the ball. At least, dear cousin Vidanric's spies and watchmen hadn't found out what he had been up to.

He was still surprised just thinking about earlier. He knew that she looked horrible in the fashions that were started by the ladies who were known both for their voluptuous figures and for flirting like cats in heat. She needed something with more elegance, and less... fluff. And she had finally looked her age. When he'd first seen her after regaining his human shape, he had thought that she was in the early years of puberty, tall, but not formed yet. She had already been eighteen years old when he'd used her as a hostage to get to the boarder. Thinking back, it shouldn't have been such a shock. Meliara was thin and streamline as well, and no amount of time had changed that.

Flauvic asked himself for the hundredth time why he had even bothered with the dress. He assumed that it was a thank you gift for not having him killed on sight. But then he remembered the apologetic look she had given him a month ago when that Nerroc skunk had had the audacity to make a remark toward him and Elestra had diverted attention away from him. She seemed to understand what it was like to be laughed at. It was the first time that someone had actually meant it when they had said they were sorry. Just like tonight had been the first time someone had ever thanked him and meant it.

Oh well, it didn't matter. He would serve the time that she had given him, and then he would petition to get Merindar back. And then, if he was very lucky, he would never be bothered with these people again. He didn't care about the throne anymore. He just wanted to be left well enough alone, not to have his nose rubbed in the failure that had been his family. Not like the Renselaeus family, he thought sarcastically, who seemed to be doing just fine, who hugged their children.

He growled through his teeth, though more at himself for dwelling on something so idiotic, than at the actual thought.

"Go to sleep!" he commanded himself, turning over and settling down to try counting as high as possible. He didn't get much rest that day.


	7. Political Pressure

PRE-A/N: I hope you know, I'm madly in love with you all!

Felsong- There is a narcissus flower, which is really pretty I've heard, but in the myth, Narcissus himself turns into an anemone flower. I checked.

Ekirth- Come on, who actually thinks of themselves as good looking? Personally, I like to think that because Elestra's not some great beauty that she can get away with being so... I kinda wanna say subversive, but that makes her seem like a brat. It allows her to operate for the greater good in a more behind-the-scenes way because she doesn't draw so much attention- how's that? Oh! And Flauvic's POV jumps in quite a few times as the story goes on. Not every chapter, but we will get to see what he's thinking about a few things.

* * *

CHAPTER 7- Political Pressure

Everyone looked at me a little differently the next few days after the ball. I had Maureen order more dresses in the same style that the gown had been in, and trusted that she would know my preferences to choose colors and materials and such. Phillo Keradec followed me around like a lost puppy for nearly a week before I tripped over my own feet and nearly went face down on the path through the gardens. After that, people seemed to realize that I was still me. I was glad. I hadn't liked everyone treating me like I was someone else; someone delicate and breakable.

The next Petitioner's Court was held two weeks after my Flower Day celebration. It seemed to be going along well enough when an unforeseen- at least by me- problem arose. A man was brought in for stealing from a shop in one of the villages near Athanarel. He had been doing this for some time before they caught him. When was asked what he did with the goods he stole he said that he sold them to others at a cheaper price and kept the money for himself. Mother asked him what he did with the money and the man refused to answer. It was probably gambling or illegal loan payment, I guessed. Father had the man taken to the dungeons to await sentencing.

When we convened in the Rose Room, the first issue that we discussed was that of the thief.

"He didn't give a reason for his actions," Savona recalled. "That leads me to think that it was something illegal."

"And even if he had given a good reason?" Tamara asked. "Would you have pardoned him then?"

"No, but the circumstances might have been such that we could understand the motive behind his stealing," he said.

"In my opinion, a thief forfeits his rights to clemency the moment he commits the crime," Lord Nerroc said. "Regardless of his motive, which was probably illegal in the first place, he should be made into an example that thieves and others of his ilk are not tolerated."

"Are you suggesting that all thieves are worthy of an automatic death sentence?" Mother asked.

"Yes," Nerroc shrugged his broad, elegant shoulders. "Why not? Anyone that has to result to thievery in the first place has little or no life in them anymore to save."

"Then way about the Norsundrian bandits who still attack year after year?" Father asked mildly, which meant that he was trying no to show his annoyance.

"If they threaten your land, prosecute them fully. You will do my king a service to have such criminals taken care of."

"What of the family's of the bandits?" Father continued. "The men that have little food because your king underpays their large standing military so they must come over the boarder to steal what they can to sustain their wives and children. Are the nobles willing to un-pocket the money to feed these people? Is there somewhere that they can go so that they have shelter and food and warm clothing given to them? Or do you simply let them starve because the men are killed for the act of stealing?"

"Our standing army is what kept Norsunder from being taken over in the Great War, while Remalna was overrun with armies from both sides," Nerroc said proudly. "Tell me, why doesn't your part-time militia protect your boarders from bandits who wish to steal your farmers' livestock and produce, burn houses, kidnap and kill?"

My held my breath, waiting for what either of my parents would say. I felt an intense stare from near the back of the room, not on me, but on Father and Mother. He was waiting for an answer, too.

"Because no one believes that it will happen to them," someone said. I realized in surprise that it had been me. I hate it when my mouth acts before letting the rest of me catch up, but I had to keep going now that I'd started. "But then it does happen, and it's too late to rouse the militia to protect the farmers or shopkeepers or tradesmen. The poor and middle classes can be just as lazy as the nobility. Social position doesn't negate human tendencies. Does Norsunder's army make you all so secure that you are invincible, or do you have Sartoran brigands at your boarders, as well? Is everything so peaceful that you cannot fathom dissent? Or is there such unrest that your king feels that you must have a standing army to reinforce peace?"

I tried to look as innocent as possible while the room's eyes swept from me to Lord Nerroc.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but what would you know about such matters?" he tried to sound condescending and patronizing.

I shrugged and picked up my glass of wine. "I know that Norsunder is currently the largest nation in this part of the world," I smiled sweetly at Nerroc. "I know that it is the most powerful in military might. I also know that there have been three riots in the capitol since last autumn, mainly about the food shortage. The floods in Norsunder haven't let up since last summer, have they? Too much water can kill crops as easily as not enough. That, and the territories that were acquired during the war are still rebelling against Norsundrian leadership."

Lord Nerroc looked ready to ask me to name my friends. He was red with anger and embarrassment. I sipped my wine and waited for him to gain composure. I looked up to see Father's proud, but worried, expression, and Mother's satisfied smirk. My eyes went around the room to see how everyone was handling the turn of events. Flauvic's face was behind the arrogant courtier mask, only thoughtfulness showed through.

"Your Highness," Nerroc eventually gritted through his teeth, "we were discussing the punishment for a common thief."

"So we were," I nodded, turning to my parents. "In that case, what ever his punishment may be, I think someone ought to find out what he really was doing with the money he acquired. It could lead to other illegal activities, which could then be shut down, or to a family in need that could be helped. Either way, at least something good would come of this."

"Very wise deduction, Elestra," Father smiled. "I believe I will have someone look into it."

I bowed my head and raised my wine glass in salute. He raised an eyebrow that told me not to get too carried away. I had probably made an enemy out of Lord Nerroc today. I sighed and wondered what I was going to do about it. I hoped that he wouldn't do anything against me before I could make amends.

I went to my room to change into a simpler day dress instead of the blue court dress in my new fashion, which was surprisingly starting to catch on. I put on a light grey dress that matched my mood. I went to the library to think. I went into the archives and pulled out a book my parents had once recommended to me. Somewhere in it there was a story about a mock duel conducted to prove a point. I found the passage easily enough because there was a dried starliss marking the page. I grinned as I read the passage.

_...and mock-solemn, matching his Manner to the most precise Degree, I challenged him to a Duel. He was forced to go along with the Jest, lest the Court laugh at him instead of with him, but he liked it Not...  
_  
I wondered how I could use that. I didn't want Nerroc to try anything, or even to drop the matter, but I didn't think that an apology note would be heeded and could even be used against me. If I proposed a mock duel, would he go along with it? Could I pull it off? I laughed out loud; it was worth a try. I would attempt a simple apology first, face-to-face, and if he wouldn't accept it, then I would see if the duel worked.


	8. The Challenge

PRE-A/N: I said it before, and I'll probably say it again before this incredibly long story is finished- I absolutely love you guys!!!!!! You keep me goin' to the end.

-Wake-Robin: Elestra's a princess, so I figured that it was her duty to know what's going on in her world. She's probably had tutors to tell her all the history stuff, plus her parents and older brother giving her updates on all that. I think it's a royal thing.

-ShannonLynn: Thanks for the comment on the dress. I wasn't entirely sure I was describing it with words the way I saw it in my head. If you liked it, then I did okay.

-Ekirth: True, Flauvic does love himself, and he's a little too aware of how gorgeous he really is. So allow me to rephrase: Most people feel like they aren't beautiful people. But I'll be taking care of somebody telling her how awesome she really is in the coming chaps, but love takes time. Real love, anyway.

-nebula: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you too! The E/F scenes are coming. In fact, they start with this chapter.

And so, for everybody who's been craving more Flauvic face time, we begin this chapter with him. Oh, and be on the look-out for the Disney reference. I didn't really mean to do it, but it's in there.

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CHAPTER 8- The Challenge

_(to Flauvic)  
_  
Flauvic watched from the refreshments table as she found Lord Nerroc standing alone at one of the bi-weekly parties held by Tara Savona, and proceeded to talk to him. The fool seemed unwilling to listen, which wasn't stopping her in the least. She had made Nerroc look like a lack-wit idiot and a snob in the Rose Room those few days ago. Flauvic had to hide a smile at the thought of it. She had put him in his place and hadn't gloated about it. Now it seemed as though she were trying to apologize for it. He would never understand her.

Nerroc coldly refused to pay her anymore than the barest attention and went so far that he may have said something cruel. Flauvic saw Elestra flush, and she was beginning to get irritated. He recognized that look on her face that meant that she was about to say something scathing and sarcastic. She took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her fists a few times before something seemed to occur to her.

Elestra's face became very sweet, a sure sign she was up to something. Flauvic sighed and hoped she didn't do anything too foolish. Nerroc gave a derisive sneer to what ever she had said. He shook his head and started to move away from her, toward a group of the more popular young courtiers. Elestra must have seen that she was losing her chance, because she reached out and grabbed his arm. Nerroc's eyes widened in surprise, and went near to popping out of his head when she opened her mouth to address the room.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" The room turned to look at her in curiosity. "Our gracious Lord Nerroc has agreed to a little duel to settle our differences," she announced.

_Oh, she's going to get herself killed,_ Flauvic thought to himself, a firm lock on his emotionless court face. He was as surprised and confused as everyone else. Elestra laughed a little and shook her head-- a prize- winning performance.

"Not a real duel, of course. Only a game." She looked up at Nerroc and tilted her head to one side. "When shall our duel be, then? Two days hence, not counting today, at first green?"

Flauvic had to smile when he noticed the expression that the ambassador was trying to hide. The man would have said something truly abusive and degrading if Elestra hadn't been the princess and he hadn't been in public. He nodded and forced a smile.

"Of course, Your Highness, I would be honored to. What shall we be using as blades, then? Bread loaves, or perhaps swordfish?"

The rest of the room laughed, seemingly unphased, at the joke.

"Oh, no," Elestra shook her head with a mischievous frown. "I must admit that I don't think I could fight with anything but the practice foils. Besides, we want it to be dramatic, don't we?"

"Certainly," Nerroc grinned. He seemed, suddenly, very confident. "Do we get to use all of our fencing knowledge, or shall we regulate it to only Remalnan style?"

Flauvic's eyes went back to Elestra. Luckily, she realized that she had somehow just lost ground without having to be warned. He hoped she could deal with it.

"No, no. We'll use all knowledge at our disposal," she decided, mustering confidence that Flauvic was sure she wasn't feeling at the moment. "That way the duel will be interesting for both the spectators, and to us, as performers."

"What are the stakes?" someone asked.

Elestra considered it for a moment, acting as if she hadn't planned this far ahead yet. At least, he hoped she was acting. "If I win the duel," she said, "then Lord Nerroc agrees to speak with his king on the matter of the bandit raids and to find a way to end them upon his return to Norsunder."

"And if I win, Your Highness?"

"Name it," she told him.

"If I win," he said, pondering. "I would like to be Your Highness's escort to all Court functions, balls, and parties held while I remain in Remalna."

He said it as if he intended romance and his audience responded with cooing and playful jeers. As if he wasn't trying to win a seat on the throne, any throne. Flauvic was sure that the weasel would likely have tried to seduce the nearest female in line from whichever country his king had sent him to, with the hope of becoming royalty in his own right. That really was disgusting.

"Very well," Elestra answered. "My hand at all social occasions from your victory until your departure, if you win."

She stretched out her hand and Nerroc met it. They shook to seal the agreement, both of them sure that they had put themselves in the best possible position.

He had to hand it to the little princess, she had guts. Flauvic knew for a fact that Nerroc had studied all types of swordplay from this side of the sea; Norsundrian, Remalnan, Colendrian, Denleiffi, and Sartoran. He was going to be hard to beat. It was a good thing for Elestra that she was going to have help. Flauvic inwardly grinned; he had the perfect revenge for the insults he'd suffered when he was in Norsunder, and he wouldn't even have to enact it himself. There was no way it would be traced back to him.

**^^^***^^^***

_(back to Elestra)_

I had people coming up to me all night asking me what I was doing. Some of them seemed to support me, while others thought that I was crazy and was going to be made a fool of. I couldn't disagree with them, since I wasn't sure that I had made the best choice, either. It had seemed like a good one, at the time. It wasn't until Nerroc agreed and went so far as to make suggestions that I realized that I was getting myself into trouble.

I left as soon as I could and went to the practice courts to brush up on everything I knew. I didn't even stop to change clothes because I knew that Mother and Father would see me and ask what I was up to. I didn't want to have to explain my reasoning just yet.

I picked up a practice blade and started going through all of the patterns that I had been taught since I was seven. I practiced longest on the moves from Norsunder, figuring that Nerroc would likely lean on his first teachings the heaviest. I went through every type of Remalnan pattern twice just to reassure myself that I new them inside and out. I didn't know much of Sartoran fencing, or of Denlieffi. I hoped that what I had was enough to beat him, or I was sentenced to being Nerroc's companion for the next six months. I had no doubt that he would be trying his best to maneuver me into a compromising situation to force my parents to deal with him. I was determined not to let that happen.

Footsteps behind me made me falter and spin around, gasping. The figure in the doorway was silhouetted by the light outside given off from glow globes. The torches that burned inside weren't enough to show Flauvic's face until he was nearly to me. I sighed in relief. Strange, but he didn't scare me nearly as much as Nerroc did.

"What?" I asked shortly.

"I thought you might need a little help if you wanted to defeat Lord Nerroc in two days," Flauvic said. "If you don't, I'll just leave. Forgive me for disturbing you. Oh, and you may want to improve your form on that Sartoran defense. A Colendrian attack could easily get past it."

He turned back around and started to walk out. I grumbled and called him back.

"If you have something helpful to show me or tell me, get on with it. By first green in two days I need to find a way to stave off that pompous idiot. Now, will you help or did you just come to irritate me?"

He seemed pleased that I was willing to let him help.

"First, he knows more than you have time to learn in order to be a true match for him," Flauvic informed me.

I groaned. "Thank you so much."

"However," he insisted, "you have just enough time to learn an attack that he doesn't know, that can only be blocked by a defense that he doesn't know. Or, the basics of it, at least."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Remember, I spent ten years in Sles Adran as a page. They taught me many useful things there, not the least of which was foreign swordplay." He wasn't gloating, just stating a fact.

"During the four months that I spent in Norsunder waiting for the new king to grant me an audience, I watched the comings and goings of Court to see who had unspoken power and who did not," he continued. "Nerroc was the son of someone with such power, but didn't command much himself. He is looking for a way to gain that power. He managed to become an ambassador, probably through his father's maneuverings, and now he wants a royal place in Remalna. Do you plan to give it to him?"

"No, of course not," I said, appalled at the suggestion.

He picked up a second foil and went into guard position. "Then put your blade up, Princess. I have decided to help you win." He smirked at me. "Don't get too flushed, now."

I rolled my eyes.

"As if I would," I muttered, mirroring his stance.

He beat me twice just to prove that he could, then went on to show me how he was doing it. The complicated thrusts and parries of his attacks were boggling at first, but finally I began to understand. The bells for second white were ringing before I noticed how late it was, I had gotten so wrapped up in the lesson. We agreed to meet at third blue the next night to continue practicing. I wanted to beat Nerroc, but I also wanted to make a show out of it. It would make it seem less like I was actually trying to embarrass him into a position he couldn't get out of. The pattern that Flauvic was teaching me would help me accomplish both ends.

* * *

POST-A/N: Okay, I know very little about fencing and sword play, so don't sue me if you know something and I don't and it doesn't make sense the way I'm writing it. Just tell me if you have more knowledge than I do, and I'll try to go back and fix what I messed up.

And second of all, in the book CCD, Sles Adran was across the southern sea, but in Beauty, S.A. was inland and to the north. I chose to think of it as Sherwood Smith did in the original book(s). I see it as a sort of southern and semi-tropical. Kind of like Florida, but with fewer retirees and a little more politically cut-throat. And, just think, that's where Fluavie spent his formative teen years.


	9. Assistance, Somewhat

PRE-A/N: I hope you all know how seriously much I love you. You make me so happy every time I read my stats.

-nebula: Sure you can have Nerroc. What you plan to do with him...well, that's your business.

-SoccerFreak2516: 'S okay about the reviewing gap. I understand. And double woot for long baths/ showers. Can't have too much water, that's my motto. Unless you're in a monsoon, or a flood, or you're drowning. You know what I mean.

DISCLAIMER: (insert what I usually put here and yank it)

* * *

CHAPTER 9- Assistance, Somewhat

I was exhausted the next day from staying up so long and practicing late into the night. It didn't help that both of my parents had heard what I had done and had some very strong objections to express, separately, and in private. I was called away from my room, nearly napping, twice before first green to listen to them rail against my plan. I was admittedly grumpy when Tara and Kitten dropped by. They, too, felt that their opinions on whether or not I should follow through with the duel were worth two figs to me.

"You still have time to get out of it, Elly," Kitten simpered. "You can go apologize and offer to let him escort you around anyway as a way to make amends. You don't need to do this."

"There is no point in humiliating yourself, Elestra," Tara added. "Lord Nerroc is a virile man several years older than you, physically larger than you, and better skilled in fencing. And, honestly, what do you gain by this?"

"I gain the chance for security for our border citizens, that's what," I snapped.

"We have militia and border guards for that," Tara said.

"We just don't want to see you hurt, Elestra," Kitten whimpered.

I shooed them away as soon as I could by telling them, truthfully, that I was getting a headache. Just as I had gotten rid of them, my brother came to give me advice on how to deal with the situation.

"I know I can't talk you out of this," he began, thankfully. "We are all too much like Mother to let anyone tell us what to do, even if it is for our own good." He grinned, and I echoed it, if a bit more shallowly. "So let me say this: Nerroc is an accomplished swordsman. He will not stop at the usual tactics to win. He will use whatever he can to defeat you. Keep alert."

"I had heard that he was good," I admitted. "But have I really gotten myself in that deeply?"

Alaraec sighed and put his face into the most neutral expression that he could. "Not only is he that good, but I believe that he will resort to bad form and trickery if he feels that he is losing. He seems the type. I hope you have a plan."

I nodded. "I have something at least. I hope it will be enough."

"So do I," he said before he broke into a teasing smile. "It would be too horrible if you were forced to stand with him at every party and function for nearly the next two years. If you need someone to practice with today or tomorrow, I'd be happy to help. I can name a few others who wouldn't mind helping you get ready."

"Anyone who knows how to teach me Sartoran defense before I'm chopped to mincemeat?" I joked.

"You won't be chopped to mincemeat," Alaraec insisted in that all-knowing older brother way. "The swords will be dull and tipped, after all."

"You're such a comfort, Alec," I rolled my eyes.

He laughed softly and patted my head like I was still a child. "Get some sleep, Elly. You look like you need it."

I did finally take a nap. I woke at third green and went to get some dinner. I ate light, but asked for a snack to be sent to my room at around first white. I was hoping to be done with my lesson by then.

At first blue I sought out my brother to ask him to face off against me. He was busy, but, true to his word, he found two other young men who were willing to practice with me. Phillo was one, and the other was Adlai Terigath of Metharanum, a duchy on the coast near Mardgar. They were both helpful, although I think that Phillo went easy on me and let me win. Adlai was tougher, but I still beat him. We sparred for over a bell and finally I had to go rest again if I wanted to be awake enough to practice with Flauvic at third blue.

I went to my room and lay down, expecting to only rest my eyes before I had to leave again. I didn't realize just how tired I was. It was nearly first white-change before I woke up with the servant bringing my snack knocking on the door to my rooms. I cursed myself and rushed out of my room, past the man who'd brought my food, and took the little used servants passages. I wondered if Flauvic would still be in the practice courts. I hoped so. I hoped he didn't think I just didn't show up.

I ran into the indoor practice courts and scanned the area I could see. It was deserted, as far as I could tell.

"Are you here?!" I called. "I fell asleep, I'm so, so sorry!"

"You should be."

I jumped and turned toward the quiet voice at my right. Flauvic lounged on a table in an alcove used to store equipment, cleared of all of its contents, foils, padding, shields, and the like, except for one chest pad he was using as a pillow. I walked over and looked down at his face, slack with half sleep, eyes closed with his eyelashes making pale half-circles at the very tops of his cheeks. It struck me again how beautiful he was. I blushed, glad that he couldn't see it in the dim light, and cleared my throat.

"If you still feel awake enough, oh teacher, I'd like to start now," I joked.

He opened his eyes, sleep making them the color of dark, clouded honey, with an impatient accusation in them. He rolled off of the table and on to his feet in one fluid movement. He was inordinately graceful, and I suddenly felt like a gawky newborn foal trying to take its first steps. I tried to shake off the feeling and moved to one side, bending to pick up a blade and waited for him to start his teaching. When he didn't begin right away I looked at him in question.

"You seem half asleep yourself, still," he answered my unspoken inquiry. "I was letting us both wake up a bit more."

"I said I was ready," I reminded him.

"So you did," he acknowledged. With a quick stretch he found another foil and took his stance. "Let's see what you remember, shall we?"

We had a short bout, him calling me on my missteps and failings. I compensated and tried to counter him, and even managed to force him into a defensive position for a few short moments. He recovered quickly and soon had the tip of his blade at my throat. I yielded and we began the real lesson.

He worked with me on my foot work and taught me how to use my opponent's weight against him. I learned as fast as I could before dawn. I think my form and skill improved a little, but I didn't know if it was going to be enough. As third white approached- so much for my snack- Flauvic had me do a pattern to see how much I had learned and how much more I had to go in one more night.

"You learn quickly, I'll give you that," he complimented. "I think that next time we'll concentrate on dirty tactics: how to get past them, and how to pull them."

I was shocked that he said such a thing out loud. He chuckled at my expression and ended in a yawn. That set me into a big yawn of my own and we had to call it a day.

"I'll meet you here at third blue- don't be late this time," he warned me.

"It was an accident," I insisted petulantly.

I went straight to my bed and fell fast asleep, not to wake again until nearly second green. I think that my family was beginning to wonder what I was doing to wear me out so.

***^^^***^^^***

_(to Flauvic)_

He didn't even get a chance to sleep that day. It had taken every bit of skill he had to ditch the new spies that Danric had placed on him. He was glad that there was only one more lesson to go. He didn't think that he would be able to keep losing such persistent shadows. Now, he had to report to his parole warden at dawn to see what he would be doing that day. It seemed that they switched his duties every day. Likely, it was to keep him from making alliances if he stayed in one position too long.

Walking straight to the place in the Servant's Wing that Geoff usually met him, Flauvic covered yawn after yawn. He was pleased with how much Elestra had learned in so short a time. If she had the chance, she could become quite skilled in the Adrani style of fencing. What she was learning in his accelerated teachings would have to be enough. He worried briefly that she wouldn't be ready and would accidentally get hurt. Practice blades or not, those swords could cause harm if the participants weren't careful. Flauvic brushed the nerves away and told himself that she was going to be fine.

"Where have you been?" Geoff asked him the moment he spotted the ex-noble. "I sent someone to your room to look for you. Figured the cush, would-be king was still sleeping, since you're late, but they said that you weren't in bed."

"Is it that I haven't been in my bed that upsets you, or that I haven't been in yours?" Flauvic ruthlessly taunted the man.

The parole warden turned a startling shade of violet-red. He threw his fist just under Flauvic's ribs, making him double over, and grabbed him roughly by the arm. Half dragging Flauvic, half shaking him, Geoff marched his charge straight back out the servant's door and started toward the barns.

"Since your mouth and morals already stink like it, you'll spend the day cleaning out the horses' pens," Flauvic was informed. "Believe me, boy, a lot of us've been waiting a long time to dole out this chore to you, and many more of the like."

"'Boy?'" Flauvic sneered. "You were not that much older than I when I had Athanarel under my thumb. What right-"

"Aye," the man said, shoving him again, "and your reign lasted about a day, didn't it? Get to work."

Geoff thrust a shovel into his already abused stomach and left Flauvic to muck out the stalls, fuming. He had gone from being nervous for the princess, to wanting to see her violently turned inside out with pliers in only a few moments. This was all her fault, after all! He wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for her bloody sense of humor. Relying on his anger, but concealing it as best he could under arrogance and the certain knowledge that he was above every single person in the palace, he cleaned every stall in the stables before first green. By third, he had all the manure in a wagon for the gardeners to haul into the gardens to feed the plants.

First blue came and Flauvic went to his assigned room to catch a bit of sleep. He was determined to be awake and waiting for Elestra when she entered the practice courts at third blue, and then show her exactly what her bloody sentence meant to him.


	10. A Friendly Bout

PRE-A/N: Love you all, thanks for coming back. The only big thing I need to say is that there's a part in this chap where Elestra's talking- well, yelling, actually- and the words look kinda like this: 'blah de dum da blah'. That's the only way I could think of to show that she's emphasizing an entire statement instead of just one word, since doesn't read italics and I'm too lazy to go back and put them in once I've updated. Just so ya know.

* * *

CHAPTER 10- A Friendly Bout 

I walked quietly into the enclosed training court where I was meeting Flauvic, one arm full, carrying a basket. I was early tonight, I noticed smugly. Maybe he would be the one that arrived late. An instant after I thought it, a movement to one side caught my attention and I saw Flauvic holding two foils.

"Drop the basket and turn," he instructed tersely.

I barely had time to set the basket down before he tossed me the extra blade and attacked. I immediately went into guard position and defended myself quite well, I think. My temper rose as he started to fight dirty, and I somehow managed to get him to take a defensive stance. I pushed forward just enough to drive him back and then let off. I was surprised at how he was acting, and didn't much feel like dealing with it if he was going to be so annoying the night before I had to face Lord Nerroc.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, moving out of his reach.

He was already sweating, although we hadn't practiced long. The dim light revealed just enough to show that he looked worn and tired. That, and he looked angry. What had I done?!

"You think that I enjoy these little bouts with you, Your Highness?" he sneered. "Wrong. I want you to beat that sniveling waste of skin, Nerroc, to avenge myself of the wrongs I've already suffered. After that, I don't care what happens to you."

I stood in silent shock for a moment. What was his problem tonight? I had figured that he'd had some ulterior motive for wanting me to win, but he didn't have to be so mean about it. What was worse, his words had actually hurt a little.

"Hm. Strange. And here I thought you may have been worried about what happened to me," I said, putting as much sarcasm as I could into my voice. "I never would have thought you were just using me. Oh, what shall I do now?" I sighed in annoyance.

"You bore me, Flauvic," I told him, wanting to bash his head in. "Either help me win, for whatever reason, or go to bed."

I turned my back on him and went to gather up the basket. I took it over to the table that he had been laying on last night and set it down. I busied myself with unpacking its contents to help me get my temper back under control. I took out two sandwiches and some sweet biscuits before I heard Flauvic's footsteps behind me. I felt him stop a few paces farther away form me than he ordinarily would have, and that only irritated me more, for some reason.

"So, you brought yourself a snack," he said. If he'd been female, I would have described it as "tartly." Unfortunately there's no male equivalent. "Becoming quite the little glutton, aren't you?"

I spun around and took several infuriated steps toward him until I was practically spitting in his face. "No, you lack-wit! There's two of everything because there are _two_ of us! I had the impression, forgive me if I'm wrong, 'oh strong and wise one', that all of the sleep that the both of us have been missing because of these late night fencing lessons was probably taking its toll. I assumed that getting extra food into our stomachs while we work might help us concentrate and not be quite so tired. I thought I was doing something nice, you twaddling idiot! And you smell bad, too!"

I stomped over to a training horse and sat down on it, hard. I sat there, and I sulked. I didn't mean to sulk; didn't want to sulk; hadn't come prepared to sulk. But sulk I did. I had actually been in a good mood before Flauvic had started this shouting match; although, admittedly, I was the one that had been doing most of the shouting.

I glowered, watching him slowly approach the basket of food I'd brought. He reminded me of a stray dog that was used to getting kicked, tentatively coming closer to an outstretched hand meaning no harm. I felt a stab of guilt for yelling at him, but I shoved the feeling away. He might be wary, but that doesn't mean he had to bite the hand that was trying to help!

"I don't suppose that you remembered coffee?" he asked, trying, and failing, to sound as malicious as he had before.

"Still inside the basket," I told him, matching my voice to his, realizing how childish we both sounded and not caring. "The two clay jars withlids so that the coffee wouldn't spill."

He lifted the lid to the basket and peered inside. He reached in to pull out a jar and nearly dropped one when he noticed that it was hot, cursing at himself.

"Careful now, it's hot," I snidely warned, purposely too late.

He sent me a glare and clenched his jaw, but this time Flauvic was more careful when he brought the coffee out. I watched as he picked up one of the sandwiches and a few of the biscuits. I harrumphed and settled myself into the knowledge that he wasn't going to apologize, and that I would have to put up with his immaturity all night if I wanted to learn more of the tricks he had to teach me. Taking in a deep breath I prepared to go and get my share of the food.

Before I could fully get up from the training horse, Flauvic walked over to me and nearly threw the food at me. I carefully took the jar of coffee and the food, perplexed. Flauvic turned and went back to the table and took the second jar out and unscrewed the lid. He took a sip and sat down on the table with a sigh I could hear from where I stood. He didn't look at me again as he started eating the remaining sandwich, seeming to find himself hungrier than he thought after taking the first bite.

I think that was his apology.

Huh.

My own anger drained out of me in a wash of confusion. He made life so difficult, and then he expected a little act like that to take care of everything. And, more surprising than anything else, it did. His previous snobbishness was already forgiven.

I sat back down on the wooden horse and tried to situate myself so that I could hold the jar between my legs while I ate. It wasn't working, so I had to give up and go to sit on the table with Flauvic. I tried to stay, with my coffee and food, at the opposite end of him because, one, I wasn't completely sure if we were back to being... friends, or whatever we were, and two, because I hadn't been lying: he smelled!

"What _have_ you been doing today? You reek."

I winced. That probably wasn't the best way of asking, but it had popped out and I couldn't take it back now. I noticed that Flauvic tensed his shoulders and sent me a sharp-edged glance. I blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry. That came out wrong," I said.

"I have been cleaning out the stalls in the stable," he said tersely. "By the way, thank you so very much for this quaint punishment of yours. I plan to pay you back someday."

I tied not to laugh, I really did. I didn't want him to think that I was insulting him. It was an accident that a tiny giggle escaped. Once that one was gone, my defenses seemed to think that there was no point in holding the rest back. I nearly fell of the table I was laughing so hard. I had crossed over into that place of tiredness where everything suddenly becomes absolutely hilarious.

"I'm sorry," I gasped, trying to swallow the last of the giggles. "I'm not... I mean... I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you think that it's funny," he said through his teeth. "Should I leave you to your side-splitting sense of humor, or are we going to practice tonight? You face your challenge tomorrow one way or another."

I sobered up pretty quickly after that reminder. I did want to be prepared, so I pulled myself together and told him that I was ready any time he was. We spent the remaining time until second white going over different diversions and sneaking attacks. My favorite was faking a thrust to the point of the sword into the groin of my opponent. Both of them.

"Trust me, any male you go against _will_ back up if he thinks you're going to try injuring him... there," Flauvic informed me.

That got me laughing again. Flauvic didn't join in, but he did look like he was having problems keeping his face clear a few times when I made especially comical mistakes. In all, I ended up learning some very useful, if not entirely allowed, maneuvers to help set Nerroc off while fighting.

We agreed that, by second white, I had learned all I could in such a limited time frame, and sleep was the best thing I needed. We were just winding down, stretching to release the tension in our muscles from continuous work, when I heard Flauvic hiss in his breath through his gritted teeth. I turned to see him slowly lowering his arms and wincing.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Fine," he said.

"Pulled something today shoveling?" I tried to tease.

"I'm guessing it was more from the blow I got from your father's guard, hired to make sure I'm staying on the straight and narrow."

My forehead creased in mild shock and outrage. "What? Who- Geoff. Why? That's not right!"

I started walking toward the door of the practice courts- why, I don't know. I think I had some vague notion of finding that Geoff man and having a conversation with him that would end in, "And if you ever hit anyone else under your charge again I will personally see to it that you never work in Remlana-city again." I only got a few steps before Flauvic caught up to me and grasped my arm above the elbow, stopping me. I pivoted to face him, my face still angry. He was smirking and looked at me sardonically. I suddenly felt like such a child.

"While I'm flattered that you feel the need to protect me," he said, voice thick with deprecating laughter he was suppressing, "I don't need it, nor do I want it. Besides, have you thought how it would look if you started trying to defend me? It would certainly be suspicious. People would start asking questions, and not all of them would take your word that nothing more than has happened, happened."

I looked at him in confusion. He raised an eyebrow and the creases of his mouth deepened. Now he really was making fun of me. It took me a few more seconds, but I finally understood what he meant.

"_Oh_! No!" I jerked out of his hold on my arm and stumbled back, absolutely red. "But, we didn't- _wouldn't_... you...I..._no_!"

He finally let loose the laughter he'd been holding in all night. It filled the room, echoing off of the walls, and made me feel like the silliest girl alive. I crossed my arms over my stomach dejectedly.

"Well, I'm glad _you_ find it funny. I'm so sorry I can't say the same."

"Which is just as I suspected," he said, his voice a little thick.

"Very well," I sighed. "I won't say anything, but I still don't think that it's right that you're hit. Is anyone else abused by this man?"

"Not that I know of," Flauvic answered. "As far as I can tell, he has something against me, in particular."

"Maybe you did something really mean to him in the past," I suggested. "You know, pre-tree."

His face wiped free of humor and he put more space between us.

"You ought to be getting to your bed, now, Princess. You'll need your rest for the duel tomorrow. Good luck."

He stalked out of the room and disappeared into the darkness. I watched, not sure why he had taken that so badly. I sighed, confused once again, as it seemed I was doomed to be around Flauvic. I gathered up the basket and jars that had held the coffee, and carried everything back to my rooms. I left the basket on a small table in the salon part of my suit and went in to bed.

* * *

POST-A/N: I'd just like to reiterate, I don't really know anything about fencing, so don't get too angry if I wrote something that wasn't in the rules or whatever. I'm ignorant except for what I've seen in movies, and we all know how accurate those can be. (Please note the sarcasm.)


	11. The Duel

PRE-A/N: I have just completed the story at home on my computer!!!! WOOOOO-HOOOO!!!!! I'm so happy! You have no idea how hard it usually is for me to finish stories that I write solo. I usually get bored with them and never finish, so they lay around half done. But this one is 105 pages long, 27 chapters and an epilogue, without spaced between the paragraphs (I have to add those when I get ready to update). You know what this means? It means that we have now entered the realm of possible double updating. Yes! Two chapters at a time! Not this time, but maybe next time. (smile, giggle, joy joy joy)

* * *

CHAPTER 11- The Duel

I slept for as long as possible. It was halfway through third gold before Maureen woke me up. I staggered to the toilet and bathing rooms that were next to my bedroom. I cleaned myself up, and had a quick breakfast of toast with jam and good, strong coffee brought to my room. After I dressed in the same trousers, although a different shirt, as the night before, I headed to the practice courts once again. I wondered if Lord Nerroc had spent as much time preparing these last few days as I had. I sincerely hoped not.

There was already a crowd gathered outside, and Nerroc was stretching and starting to warm his muscles to the patterns and charges. I greeted everyone, including my opponent, warmly and full of fun. I forced myself to keep a smile on my face as I went to retrieve my blade. It was the same one I had been using for the past three days to practice with, hidden before I'd left for bed. This way I would at least have the comfort of familiar steel in my hand.

I stretched and warmed myself up, though I was careful not to betray any of my new skills. Flauvic and I had both agreed that they would be of better use as a surprise. After I was through, I went out into the sunshine and faced off against Nerroc, keeping a brave and light hearted smile on my face. It was enough of an effort that I wondered if face muscles could cramp.

"Hello, everyone!" I called. "Welcome to our fun."

Everyone laughed and I felt a little relieved. I looked around at the faces in the crowd to see who was here. Mother and Father had come. Both of the other ambassadors were in attendance. Alaraec and many of my friends and extended cousins were standing at the sidelines to see the outcome, as well. I searched the servants milling about holding parasols and carrying chairs for their lords and ladies. Flauvic was not among them.

Part of me was glad that he wasn't there. I wouldn't have the pressure of him watching and critiquing every move I made, knowing that he taught me better than that, and feeling like I was a waste of time. Another part was greatly disappointed that he wouldn't be there to silently cheer me on, for whatever his motive was for me to win.

I shook my head a bit to clear it and looked back out at the crowd. "Any requests, before we get started?" Again, chuckles.

"Don't do anything that gets you hurt, that's all your Mother and I ask," Papa called from where he stood, Mama at his side.

"Well, I'll do my best," I said, mock solemn.

Just then, the bell for first green tolled over the courtyard. I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so nervous. I was beginning to think that the breakfast I'd eaten was not the good idea I'd thought it would be. I tried to laugh the unease off and turned to Nerroc. He didn't seem nearly as racked as I was.

"Do you have a preference of style to begin with? As the challenged, you have the right to choose," I said as graciously, and as calmly, as I could.

"Your Highness, why don't we start with Remalnan style, and elaborate from there?" he said.

I nodded, ignoring the implied insult. "Very well."

I took a deep breath and tried to cast off all of the feelings that would be a hindrance. I went into my stance, mirroring Nerroc. We both paused, unsure who was going to make the first move. Nerroc made that decision and put me into guard.

We went back and forth for several minutes in Remalnan, both evenly matched; my greater skill in the style of my homeland to his greater strength. Sweat started to bead on my face, and I could feel dampness on my back between my shoulder blades as I pushed on, forcing him to retreat a few steps back. He switched his technique to Norsundrian. I did my best to counter it, but I just didn't have the experience in that style.

I pulled my favorite of Flauvic's tricks and aimed for Nerroc's...um... lower-middle area. True to Flauvic's prediction, Nerroc backed up. I distantly heard the murmurs of the crowd as they reacted to what I'd done. Luckily, there was no rule against it, so long as I didn't succeed in my attempted attack.

I was tiring faster than I would have liked. He was just physically bigger and stronger than I was, and there was no amount of training or preparation that could change that anatomical fact. Men are usually just bigger. No shame in it, but no help for me, either. I had to use the Adrani technique now, or lose my chance.

I drove Nerroc off for a second and altered my footing. When the ambassador charged again, I was ready. I met him half way and surprised him with a quick parry and thrust combination that he hadn't been expecting. My attention was focused on him as acutely as it had been on Flauvic as we practiced. Soon, exactly as I'd been taught, I cornered Nerroc against the back of the fencing circle. A few semi-expert jabs later, and my opponent was driven out of the circle and forfeited the match.

Sweat dripped down my spine, soaked my hair, slid into my eyes, and made me wonder why I had bothered to bathe this morning at all. I was still in the world of competition when I was suddenly surrounded by my friends, shouting, patting my damp back, and chanting my name. I grinned at them, at my parents, and laughed out loud. However, I quickly experienced the down side of adrenaline highs on top of very little sleep for days at a time. I was exhausted and nearly collapsed to my knees. Phillo was the one who caught me and picked me up. I found myself cradled in his arms when my head cleared a bit, much to my embarrassment.

"She must be having a spell after so much excitement," Duchess Tamara covered for me.

"Really, I'm fine," I said breathlessly. "You can put me down, Phillo, I can stand."

He wasn't quite convinced, but set me down gently, warily, not trusting that I was fully capable.

"Elestra, I think you had better go lay down," Father told me. "You've earned it, with that glorious display of swordswomanship."

I caught his eyes playfully sparkling down at me, knowing that he was teasing. I grinned and agreed. I was followed by an admiring entourage all the way to my room. Once there, I collapsed onto my bed, fast asleep before I took my first breath of pillow scent.

* * *

_(to Flauvic)_

Flauvic stood in the blazing heat of the Great Kitchen, once again resigned to pot-and-pan scrubbing. The head cook, Jozman, a large, threatening man some years past his prime, was dictating the instructions for meals to be served all over the palace and grounds, to which nobles and private parties, as well as orders to the scullery maids, dish washers, and general clean-up crews.

Flauvic tried to be as calm as he was portraying himself to be, and not to let his stomach twist. When he got that tight, acidic feeling, like he was eating his own insides, he tried to pass it off as having not had a good meal in at least a week. Secretly, which he would never admit, he was worried about the outcome of her duel this afternoon. It was nearly second green already, and he hadn't heard anything; the servants who were at the duel weren't back yet.

Commotion in the servant's entrance pricked Flauvic's ears and made his heart quicken a beat. Still, he feigned disinterest, not wanting to give the gossips more bite to their jaw-jabbing when they spoke of him. The mosh of kitchen staff that had been out that day filtered back in, talking fast and pantomiming swordplay.

"'Ay, now! What's this all about, you lot?" Jozman shouted above the clamor.

"Princess Elestra! She's done it! Aw, ya shoulda seen it! I'll never forget the look on that stuffed pig's face! He's the laughin' stock!" Everyone wanted to answer at once making it nearly impossible for anyone to be heard.

Flauvic picked up on the meaning of it, though. He kept the proud, satisfied smile off of his face, but walked to a counter and started to clear up the old dishes that needed to be cleaned, just in case. Seconds later one of the serving maids that he'd made a point to be especially nice to so that she would do the bulk of his work came up behind him.

"Did you hear?" she asked excitedly.

"Something about the princess, yes?"

"Yes, something about the princess!" the girl giggled. "Didn't you hear about that duel she had today with that ambassador from Norsunder?"

"Mmm," he answered noncommittally.

"Well, she won! She nearly got beat, was sweatin' real bad and looked mighty worried if ya ask me. But then she burst out with some fancy kinda sword work like I'd never seen before. Then, one two three, and he's out o' the circle and she's won the day! That princess of ours sure is somethin', isn't she?"

"Yes, something," Flauvic agreed, leaning his hip against the counter and smiling beatifically at the girl. "Marissa, could you help me, please? I need to have these dishes cleaned and then move on to the big pots before dinner tonight. Would you help? Please?"

As simple as that, and the girl thought that she was special to him and decided to do his chores for him. All he had to do was smile and ask nicely and she was falling all over herself to do the work for him. Elestra had been the only one to ever be immune to his charm. He had to admit that he liked that about her.

And, speaking of the Princess, he thought he should do something to acknowledge her accomplishment. He set his mind to thinking of something suitably subtle as he pretended to wash the same great caldron for the third time, flirting with the pretty maid.

* * *

PS- I've been having hell'a luck lately with computers and the internet. First, I couldn't get up to the library to update or anything else, which is why I didn't write back to anyone this chapter, and then refused to read the chapters, saying that it wasn't written on the right template, but I've written them all on the same program, so I don't know what was up with that. I'm hoping I'll have better luck this time. Sorry it's taken so long.


	12. Morning and Night

PRE-A/N: It's been a while since I could check my reviews, which is why I haven't written back to anyone in the last few chaps. Now I have boo-koo people to write back to. Feel free to skip them if you weren't one and go straight to the story.

-Ekirth: No, Flauvic isn't having past/present trouble. If it seems like he is, it's all my fault, but I didn't catch anything when I went back and read. Can you be more specific?

-FelSong: Poor Flauvic was having a rough day, and he was a lil grumpy. Can't fault him for that.

-Sailacel: Flauvic is scrubbing dozens of huge pots for all those nobles, their families, parties, plus the other servants, all being used constantly to feed an entire palace full of people, for hours on end, everyday, for months... Sounds like hard labor to me. And, yes, had they been dressed just like potted flowers, it would have been hilarious watching them fall over.

-nebula: Thank you, (bow) thank you.

-Wake-Robin: I actually started writing this story back in February or March. I just didn't post anything until...whenever the first post date was. But thank you anyways.

-LadyStarFire: Welll, she did a lot of the work for Flauvie, but, with as many pots, pans, and dishes that there were to wash, he probably did quite a bit of work himself.

* * *

CHAPTER 12- Morning and Night

I awoke to sunlight, just as I'd fallen asleep to it. I felt rested, but had no idea how long I'd been out. I stood and tried to stretch, my body protesting every movement, forcing groans from my throat. I was sore and achy from so much hard work. I grimaced and kept trying to loosen my muscles.

I also noticed that I had been changed into my night dress, but didn't remember doing it, or having it done. How long had I been asleep? I called Maureen in to help me get dressed, since my arms were refusing to move very far, and certainly not over my head. She informed me that I had slept through the rest of the day of the duel, plus nearly an entire second one while helping me to get into a light blue day dress. It was second green already.

"You must be joking!"

"No, Your Highness," Maureen said. "Her Majesty said to tell you that you should go to see her as soon as you woke. She wishes to speak with you."

As I stiffly rushed out of my bedroom and into the salon, ready to run out the door to apologize to my family for being so lazy, as I'm sure they must have seen it, when something on my table drew my attention. I paused in my dash to the door and walked over to see what that bit of greenery was. It looked like a crown from far back. Close up, I saw that it was a laurel crown, symbolic of victory in sporting events, and grinned. There was a simple folded piece of paper standing like a small tent with one word on it written in the same handwriting as the note that had accompanied my dress had been: "VICTORY!" I laughed out loud and tried the coronet on briefly; and then I had to go and meet with my mother. I removed the crown and had Maureen put it in my room while I swiftly exited my front door.

I met with Mother in my parents' salon in their suite of rooms. She was pacing and seemed anxious, her forehead creased in worry. She looked up in near surprise when I barreled in. Her face softened in relief when she realized that it was me.

"Elly, you're awake," she breathed, rushing over to hug me. We met in the center of the room to embrace. From there we went to sit on cushions and Mother called for sandwiches and tea to be brought in to us.

"Maureen said that you wanted to see me," I said. "I would have been here sooner, but I must have been more tired than I thought."

"Yes, you had us worried," she admitted. "I just wanted to tell you... well, to tell you how amazed and impressed I am that you did what you did yesterday. You know how hard I've had to work to become proficient enough to protect my home and family when need be. Your natural skill with a blade must be something that you inherited from your father. Masterful work, sweetling. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you," I smirked, thinking about how "natural" my skill was while practicing like mad at all hours of the night for the last few days. "I'm pretty impressed, myself. I didn't know if I could do it, honestly."

She was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Where did you learn that style of fencing, Elestra?" Mother asked, her face sober and suddenly very serious. "None of the swordsmaster's in Athanarel knows that pattern. Your father says that he doesn't know it, but he has suspicions of where it originated from. Unfortunately, he's not telling me what those suspicions are. The two of us have been married for a long time, and there is not too much that he doesn't tell me, but this he's withholding because he's afraid that I'll be worried or that I'll do something rash- I quote. Tell me, Elestra, why should he be so worried? Why is he afraid that the source of all this sudden knowledge will upset me? He's not talking, so I would appreciate it if you would."

I gulped, agreeing with Father that Mother shouldn't be told that it was Flauvic who'd taught me that pattern. But how did he know that information, if it was such a secret. This didn't look good for me.

"I...I can't, Mother," I sighed, avoiding her eyes. "Can't you be glad that I just made it possible to maybe get the border settlements' security? Lord Nerroc gave his word that he would speak with his king when he returns and see if he can convince him to take a more active stance against ex and current Norsundrian military turning into brigands. He lost, he has to keep his word. And even if he doesn't, we're no worse off than before. No man is going to go to a city where no one has seen him in a year and tell everyone that he got beaten by a girl in fencing, his supposed best subject."

Mother chewed her lip while she thought. Eventually she shrugged and shook her head, eyeing me intently.

"I'll trust you because you have never lied to me," she said carefully, as if she were recalling something said long ago. "I wish that you would tell me, but I also think that you are old enough that you don't need to tell us everything that goes on in your life. You're a smart girl, Elly, so don't disappoint me."

"I won't," I promised sincerely. "You have my word on it. No bad will come of my not telling you where I learned to fence."

I hoped.

We ate lunch in peace, although Mother was still unsure of my answer. Once the food was brought in I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten in days. I nearly pounced on the sandwiches, devouring the first three almost whole. Mama laughed at my suddenly voracious appetite. When we were finished, she and I went for a walk around the gardens.

We passed many people who wanted to congratulate me. Phillo caught up to us from behind and, after a suitable amount of nothing-talk, informed us that he was going to throw a party in my honor at the end of the week to celebrate my victory. I thanked him, but said that it wasn't necessary.

"Nonsense," he refuted me. "I would be a poor... friend-" he hesitated on the word suspiciously "-if I didn't do something to show my pride in my friend and my princess."

***^^^***^^^***

The party Phillo held in one of the smaller ballrooms of the State Wing was small compared to some. There were fewer guests than at one of Tara's parties, for example. Nerroc had been invited, I was told, but he declined, claiming that he was coming down with something.

I wore another of the Flower Day dress-inspired gowns, though much less formal, that made me look like a woman of nearly twenty-one and not a girl of fourteen. This one was a light grayish-blue with white and silver doves and bluewood leaves embroidered on it. I got many compliments, both on the dress and on my fencing triumph. There were also quite a few questions as to where I had learned the moves I'd used to win the duel. I always smiled, sometimes laughed, and refused to tell them anything.

There was dancing later in the night and Phillo claimed me right away for the first set. He was a good dancer, but it was with the skill that one had to practice on sisters and other relatives before going out into public. There was no real grace to his movements. He seemed to be nervous tonight, and that was adding to his lack of skill.

At the end of one of our frequent dances together, for I couldn't seem to get away from him, Phillo asked me if I would go with him out onto the balcony to get some air. I agreed, not wanting to be around the others any longer than necessary. Truthfully, I wanted to leave the whole party as soon as possible, but it was impolite to skip out on a party that was being held in ones own honor.

Once we had ditched the rest of the party, Phillo led me to the far side of the balcony where we could look down into one of Athanarel's gardens but the guests couldn't see us from inside.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" he asked.

"Mmm. I'll miss summer, but autumn is always breathtaking," I said. "The colors are always such a surprise. It's as if we always forget that they're coming, no matter how many years we've seen them, and then, suddenly, the world explodes into one last vibrant display before the leaves fall."

"That's what I like about you, Elestra," he smiled. "You always see things that others pass by as something special."

"I'm no poet, Phillo," I told him indignantly.

"No, but you have this way..." He blushed suddenly, his face starting to blend with his red hair in the dark. He took two halting, unsure steps to my side. "Elestra, I- I was w-wondering what you thought of me? Be-Because, I find that I'm more drawn to you every day. You are lively and brilliant and funny and smart...and I believe that I'm in l-love with you. Do you...? Can you find it in your heart to try to see me in the same light?"

I didn't know what to do. I had known that Phillo was... I don't know, infatuated with me, I guess. But I hadn't expected the normally shy young man to confess his feelings to me; feelings that, I was sorry to say, I didn't return. He was a good friend, and someone I valued. But he wasn't someone I loved. Not the way he wanted, anyway.

"Phillo, I... I don't know what to say," I admitted.

"You don't have to answer me now," he said softly. "I know that I was rather focused on Kitten until recently, so you might not believe what I say, thinking I'm fickle or such. Still, I'd like you to think about it. Please?"

I didn't have the heart to tell him no, and I found that I was nearly desperate for someone, almost anyone, to say to me the things that he was saying. "Alright, Phillo. I'll consider what you've said."

He smiled brightly and leaned down. I don't know what I expected, but he surprised me again when he kissed me full on the mouth. It was warm, and soft, and a little moist, though not slobbery. He didn't rush me or come on too strong. On the contrary, he was nearly passive against my lips. A brief touch, just long enough for me to get a feel of what it would be like if I chose to go further with him, and then he pulled back.

"We should probably go inside now," he said, clearing his throat. "We've fed the gossip-mongers enough for tonight."

I nodded, unable to speak.

...Lips....

It was my first kiss, and all I had felt... were lips. Somehow, I had expected....more than that. More than just lips. I was angry at myself for being a romantic idiot, but I had expected to have my heart race and my mind cloud over and to nearly stop breathing. I was disappointed that I had been so calm. So...... lips.


	13. Unrequited

PRE-A/N: OO-hoo! Double update! Don't you feel spesh?

* * *

CHAPTER 13- Unrequited 

_(to Flauvic)_

Flauvic had almost reached the doorway to his temporary accommodations after yet another long, monotonous day of labor. The softness of the humid, near-autumn night muffled the sound of trailing footsteps behind him. He wasn't worried that he was going to be attacked in the hall, knowing that it was only the watchers, sent by the king to make sure that he didn't do anything to endanger the country while housed in the palace- even if it was in the Servant's Wing. If only they knew....

A different, quicker stride soon replaced the quiet ones made by his human shadows. Flauvic hesitated before he put his foot down again and tried to identify whoever was behind him. Not being able to, and the steps now nearly next to him, he turned to find Vidanric had come, unescorted, to the Servant's Wing to meet with him.

"Well, this is a surprise, Cousin," he said sardonically. "Come to wish me good night?"

Danric grabbed Flauvic by the arm and pushed him into his doorway, making the tapestry flutter. "This is not a social call, I'm afraid. I'm here to ask you how my daughter learned a fencing technique taught only in Sles Adran when she has never been there herself?"

"Perhaps she's a mind reader," Flauvic answered dryly. It had been nearly a week since the mock-duel was fought. Why was Danric just now getting around to calling him out, he wondered.

"Doubtful. We would have noticed by now. How--no, _why_ did you feel the need to get involved in Elestra's duel? And why did you help her? What motive is behind all of this?"

"I helped your brat because, in defeating Nerroc with skills I taught her, she took my revenge on him and his court without me having to call him out," Flauvic explained, unashamed. "As for my motive 'behind all of this,' I take it that you don't just mean the duel, but why I'm here in general?"

Vidanric said nothing. Flauvic leaned back against the stone wall beside his tapestry and smirked. How disgruntled poor Danric looked! Unnerving his cousin was more entertaining that Flauvic had imagined.

"Do you honestly think, if I were planning something, that I'm going to let you in on it?" he asked. "Get your little mind reader to tell you."

"This is not a game, Flauvic," Danric growled and leaned into his cousin to get his point across. "I am warning you once, now, and then I simply carry out. If you do anything to hurt my family, you will be dead. There will be no trial, I will just kill you. Do you understand me?"

Flauvic leaned forward as well. "What's this I hear? Threats from the king? What would your subjects say, Your Majesty?"

"This has nothing to do with being king," Danric said. "If it had been about that, I would have said, 'I'll have you killed.' This is about being a father, and what I said was, 'I'll kill you.' See the difference? Do not force me to do it. I don't want to have your blood on my conscience, but I will see you dead if you force my hand. Remember that, and don't harm my family."

He stepped back and let Flauvic have his space. There was no flourish to his movement when he turned and strode back down the hall, no drama. There was only real suspicion and anger. Flauvic took a moment to watch his old rival leave, a burning, gnawing feeling growing in his chest. He sneered at Vidanric's retreating back before batting his tapestry back and stormed inside, wishing that he had more furniture to take his anger out on.

***^^^***^^^***

_(to Elestra)_

I was cornered by Mother the morning after Phillo's party while I was getting dressed in my room. Apparently word of our trip to the balcony spread fast and she was wondering exactly what had happened, and what I was going to do about it. I decided that it was best told over a walk around the grounds.

"... and then he kissed me."

"Kissed you!" she exclaimed. "And? How did you like it? It was your first, right?"

"It was... fine," I winced. I couldn't look her in the eye. She was much more excited about my first encounter with romance than I was.

"Just 'fine?'" she asked, confused.

"It's not that I didn't enjoy it," I said. "It's just that... I guess I expected something a bit more heart stopping. It was...fine."

"Hmm." She pondered that for a few steps. "Are you going to encourage him?"

"I haven't decided," I admitted sheepishly. "On one hand, I don't love him. I've never really thought of him like that, or anyone, for that matter. On the other hand, if not Phillo, then who? Young men aren't exactly beating down the palace gates to get to me, you know. Phillo's the first to show any real interest in me, and I can't help but be flattered and kind of want it to continue."

We were quiet as we walked farther on in the garden. She didn't tell me that I was wrong, like I'd expected her to. Of course, she didn't support my way of thinking, either. I don't think she knew what to do about the situation, either. Father was her first and only love, and it had taken secret letters to get them together.

I suddenly thought back to my anonymous gifts and wondered: could they be someone's form of courtship? The thought made me uncomfortable, like someone was trying to relive what had happened to my parents. I decided that I was going to ask Maureen who had sent the gifts the second I got back to my room. I hoped that she would give me straight answer this time.

"Elestra?" Mother called me out of my reverie. "I don't think that you ought to encourage him to love you if you don't love him."

"I think I'll tell him that I don't love him now, but that I'm willing to give him a chance," I told her.

"Alright," she sighed. "But I still think that you shouldn't lead Phillo on if you aren't in love with him."

"Oh, like how you didn't lead on Father because you weren't in love with him," I teased, turning the tables to take the pressure off of me.

"That's completely different; I didn't know it was him_,_" she said and swatted me on the arm playfully, lightening the gloomy mood and leaving us both laughing.

Lady Tamara and Duke Savona were out walking as well. Mother went to speak with them, while I told her that I was going to go see Maureen about something. I waved to my relatives and left as unobtrusively as possible, hoping Mother would explain.

Maureen, of course, insisted that she had no idea where the gifts had come from. I wanted to believe her- she'd been serving me since I was a little girl- but I knew that nothing got in my room without her knowledge. I had to trust her and believe that she would never let anything or anyone into my room that would cause me harm. I didn't like it, though. It made me feel exposed.

That evening, I met Phillo in the Card Room and asked if I could talk to him alone, in the hall. He agreed, eagerly, and everyone watched as he got up to follow me into the hallway. I blushed, but kept my face as neutral as I could. I told him what I had said I would; that I didn't love him now, but that I could see my way clear to try. He seemed disappointed, but hopeful that he could make me love him, in time. I hoped so, too. I didn't want to go through my life without having ever experienced what my parents had. And Uncle Bran and Aunt Nee. And Savona and Lady Tamara. And a whole slew of others. I sincerely hoped that Phillo was it, because there wasn't anyone else.

***^^^***^^^***

The autumn ended quickly this year, the first snows coming before all of the leaves had even left the trees yet. I went with Phillo to every court function, every ball, every party and casual social gathering. Lord Nerroc glared at me often, but I tried not to let it get to me, and went out of my way to be as nice to him as his own disposition would let me. Oria came home from Dyranarya Academy for Winter Festival, but had to leave before Alaraec's Name Day, and so, way before mine. I made sure that I had a small, quiet Name Day, since my parents had made such a fuss about my Flower Day. I was generally happy, but I felt like something was missing, or that something was about to happen that we weren't prepared for, and there was no way to stop it. That Name Day, I wished for safety for my family, my friends, and my country. I didn't want anything else.

I still looked for Flauvic everywhere I went, and occasionally found him, though he seemed to not want to speak with me anymore. He didn't seek me out, like he had at my Flower Day ball, and I didn't run into him in the passages or the library. I had fulfilled his task for me, and now I was useless, apparently. It made me scowl and fidget every time I thought that. Sometimes I would even start muttering to myself in public and then have to think up an excuse for it. It was very embarrassing, and I blamed him.

Winter had come early and didn't leave until late, and my unease grew. I hated being cooped up, and that was probably one of the reasons I was so anxious. Plus, it had been months and I still didn't love Phillo. As much as I had come to care for him, it was still hollow when we kissed, and I thought it was a wonder that he didn't feel it. But, true to my statement, no other young man, or old man, for that matter, was interested in me, so Phillo it was. Yep, that definitely had something to do with the horrible ache I was feeling.

* * *

POST-A/N: If you think that a smart girl like Elestra wouldn't do something like latch on to a guy who she didn't really have feelings for, and- let's be honest- who doesn't really have feelings for her, either, you're wrong. I did just that about a year ago. You get so starved for someone to tell you that they like you as more than a friend, enjoy your company, want to kiss you... that you make yourself forget for a while that this may not be the best relationship to be in. It's not real, but you try to let yourself believe that it is. It can happen, and so I was kinda working out my issues by having Elestra go through sort of the same thing.

OK. Done preaching and going all poor-poor-pitiful-me. What did you think? OH, and could you guys help me think of a curse-ish name to exclaim? Something along the lines of "You bastard!" or "You jerk!" or even "You asshole!" I'm trying not to use too many expressions that are obviously not Remalnan.


	14. Mud War

PRE-A/N: Yay! This is my absolute favorite chapter in the entire story, not to mention one of the longest. I got the idea when I was walking home one day in this warm down pour that lasted for about an hour. I didn't have an umbrella with me, but it felt so good I didn't mind, and then my mind started wondering, and this chapter was a result. I hope you all like it as much as I do.

BTW. Everybody wave hi to the new reader! I'm so sorry, I can't remember you're screen name (I left the paper I copied down all the people I wanted to write back to at the library), but I remembered that you're new to the story. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy.

For those of you who read Interception (about Savona finding the note from Mel in CCD and the silly little wrestling match that the cousins had to get the note back), I found that a lot of you wanted me to continue the story. Honestly, though, I can't think of anything else to do with it. Any ideas that may spark a second chapter are welcome, I guess.

Thanks for the ideas on what names to use in the name calling part. I pondered. I debated. I hope you think what I chose works.

Disclaimer: Not mine, except what is.

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CHAPTER 14- Mud War

The first warm spring rain didn't come until long after all of the snow had melted. It was the first of a long rainy season, I suspected, but it still felt like something new and special that had never happened before. I wanted to go run in it. Unfortunately, I was supposed to be a proper princess and had certain responsibilities to live up to, and going out in the rain did not set a good example for others. Instead, I went to the stable to groom Bluewood, my horse, to keep my mind off of the inviting drops falling outside.

I walked into the snug, warm stable thankfully devoid of many others today. No one wanted to be out in the rain except me, it seemed. I took a deep breath of the humid smells of the barn; hay, oats, manure, and horseflesh. Comforting smells that helped to keep my mind indoors. I walked over to Bluewood's stall and peered in.

"Hey, boy," I greeted the animal. "Long time, no see, huh?"

He whickered and shook his head from side to side, like he understood what I had said. I chuckled and opened the gate, stepping in, watching where I put my feet, and closing the latch behind me.

"Pretty boy. I'm going to brush your nice coat today. We still can't ride for a while; it's awfully wet out there."

He harrumphed and stamped restlessly. I couldn't agree more.

"Don't worry," I comforted. "It can't last forever." I picked up his brush and started running it along his hide. I let the monotony of the act soothe me and let my mind wander. I started thinking about Bluewood's sire, Sultan, an how he had served Father so well for so long before he was too old to go on. Then on my musings went to a story that Mother once told me about how Father had won their first kiss in a race from Carad-on-Whitewater to Lumm, and that she still maintained that he cheated, although she didn't mind anymore. From their first kiss, I thought about mine and how it was nowhere near as romantic as my parents' had been. That made me sad again, and brought back that feeling of unease that I was trying to put out of my mind.

"Bluewood, I wish we could go for a ride," I told him. "I need the exercise and time to myself. Except for you, of course!"

"Talking to dumb animals, Princess?" asked a voice.

I looked around but didn't see him, though I knew he was here. I tried not to admit to myself that I was relieved to finally hear from him. "Well, I'm talking to you, so the animals can't be that dumb."

"Very funny, Princess," Flauvic complimented.

"Where are you?"

"The loft, trying to nap," he answered.

I looked up, as if I thought I would be able to see him through the boards, then chided myself. I put Bluewood's brush back on the shelf and went out his gate. I found the ladder going to the loft and climbed up, glad that I was wearing pants and riding gear, even if it was too wet to ride. In the dim, grey light of the loft I looked around until I found a human shape lying in the straw. His head was toward the ladder, so I could only see was his hair, longer now, and his body stretched toward a small, oil-paper covered window at the end of the stable.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be working somewhere?"

"Even I get days off," he said. "You can check with my warden if you like, I'm not shirking any duties I'm supposed to be doing."

I climbed onto the floor of the loft and started to crawl over until I could sit next to him; the roof wasn't high enough to let me stand. "Alright. So, why are you up here, specifically? Surely there are less- uf!- awkward places to rest."

"Because I'm not watched quite as closely in here as I am anywhere else. Or, I wasn't until you decided to pay me a visit. One of my shadows has probably just left to tell your father where you are and who you're with."

I thought about the implications of that for a moment, but decided that I didn't much care. I shrugged and listened as the rain doubled its drumming rhythm on the wood roof above our heads.

"What are you doing here, Princess?" he asked sarcastically. "No previously scheduled rainy-day activities planned in Court?"

"I am trying to avoid temptation," I admitted, not taking offense.

"Your beau?" he sneered. "What, the count, or whatever he is. Too much temptation for you to be around him every day? Still trying to maintain your chastity until you marry the sod?"

I actually laughed out loud, as cruel as that sounds.

"No, no, not at all," I said.

He raised his eyebrows lecherously up at me. I blushed and looked away.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," I swatted him on the shoulder. "I meant, out there," I pointed to the window.

"The rain?"

I smiled a little and nodded. "I want to go play in it."

It was his turn to laugh. "Are you serious? That's it? You want to go play in the rain?"

I nodded. He shook his head.

"You are such a child."

"Didn't you ever go run in the rain?" I asked defensively.

"Not that I remember," he said.

"Your loss."

I stayed quiet, letting the alluring sound of the rain fill the silence to make my point. I brought my knees up to my chest and laid my head on them. My mind wandered again, this time to the first time that I was alone with Flauvic while it rained. He had been kidnapping me, using me as a hostage to get to the border between Remalna and Norsunder. It made me frown. My mind went back to the time my Mother told me about, being with him in what used to be Merindar House while it rained. I frowned deeper and suddenly felt that maybe I shouldn't be up there alone with Flauvic.

"What has you so worried all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I was just thinking that bad things are either happening, or about to happen whenever it rains around you," I answered. "Maybe you're cursed."

He got very still and pensive, even sad. Had I said something that struck a nerve? I was suddenly curios to know what it was, maybe even to help him to not be sad anymore. Right then, it didn't seem like a risk being there at all. Strange how he could make me go from one emotion to another so quickly. I decided to try to lighten the mood.

"If it is a curse, there must be some way to break it, don't you think?"

He didn't answer, but I went on anyway.

"Since its always bad things, maybe the way to break it is by having something good happen in the rain."

"What do you suggest?" he asked, not really interested.

I hesitated. "First of all, the bad seems to come directly from you, so you have to swear, on anything and everything you hold dear, that you aren't plotting anything."

He rolled his head to the side and looked at me skeptically. I just smiled and nodded.

"If I don't?" he challenged.

"Don't you want the curse broken?" I countered.

He glared and went quiet again. I waited for him to say something. It was a few minutes before he spoke. "I swear that I'm not plotting anything _right now_."

I sighed a little ironic laugh and nudged him accusingly. "Good enough. Now, come on." I got to my feet and started an ungraceful waddle to the ladder.

"Where are you going?"

"_We_ going," I corrected. "Come with me and you'll see."

He sighed and followed. We got down the ladder and I led him to the door going outside, into the rain. There was no one else around, except the spies Father had put on Flauvic, for which I was incredibly grateful. I didn't want to make an idiot out of myself in front of more people that absolutely necessary. At the doorway, Flauvic stopped.

"What are you doing? Is this some scheme to get me out into the rain? Of all the ridiculous, childish-"

"It's called 'having fun,' Flauvic. You need more of it; you're too grumpy. Come on." I grabbed his wrist and yanked him outside with me before he had a chance to resist. He stopped the second the first raindrop hit him. The noise was loud, heavy drops hitting the cobblestones in front of the stable. I tilted my face up to the sky and smiled so wide I ended up laughing.

"You are mad!" Flauvic yelled at me over the drumming of the fat raindrops on the cobblestones.

"I am enjoying my life," I yelled back. "How about you?"

I dropped his wrist and ran ahead a few steps and started twirling, laughing and dancing. I found the biggest puddles and jumped in them, soaking myself worse. I looked back to find Flauvic standing where I had left him, searching around him, not wanting to make a fool out of himself.

"Who's going to care?" I called back to him, wiping my wet hair out of my mouth. "If anyone should be worried about their reputation, it's me! I don't care, you shouldn't either."

He grimaced shoving some of his own hair out of his eyes, and took a few unsure steps toward me. I grinned and ran back to meet him. I took his slippery hand and tugged him out further. I led up down the paths to the gardens. They had just been planted with spring flowers that week. The puddles here were muddy. I jumped, stomping my feet down as I landed, and splashed Flauvic all the way up to his neck. He jerked in surprise as I started laughing at him.

"You think that's funny?" he asked. I nodded, looking for another puddle. I was so distracted in my own pursuit that I didn't notice him pick up a sopping mud ball. "Princess, I'll show you funny."

I looked back just in time to have the mud ball splatter on my chest. My mouth dropped in shock while the little cretin cackled.

"This is war," I warned him, bending down to arm myself.

We raced around trees and through newly planted flower beds scooping up mud and flinging it at each other, not caring how dirty we got. It was exactly like being seven again, running around at Tlanth with Kitten and the other village children in the rain. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing, and got mud in my teeth more than once for it. I didn't mind, though, because Flauvic seemed to be having just as much fun as I was. All too soon, the rain started to taper off. I turned my attention skyward.

"Aw! Boo! Hiss! Come back!" I called up, wanting more. "We barely had time to play."

"I have never intentionally gotten this dirty in my life," Flauvic mused.

I switched my attention to him and saw that, yes, he was filthy, covered head to foot in dark mud and grass stains. I was sure that I didn't look much better.

"You're welcome," I smirked confidently at him.

He quirked his mouth back at me, wiped up some mud from his neck and flung it at my face. I flinched and giggled, flicking my dirty fingers at him, hoping to get some of the mud to fly his way.

"So, is my curse broken, then?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" I exclaimed. "I now proclaim that, from this point on, the Curse of the Rain is broken, and that only good things shall happen around you in the rain. So it shall be." I went over and tapped him on the crown of his head to complete the proclamation, getting his golden hair even dirtier.

We stood there for a few moments, not sure what to do now that playtime had ended. We didn't exactly look one another in the eye, just skimmed passed the other as we surveyed the damage we had done.

"How are you going to explain your clothes?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I'll rely on the classic 'I fell' story," I said.

"Maybe fell and rolled around a bit," he said, a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, it's me," I laughed. "I probably fell and accidentally rolled down a hill. But what about you?" I asked.

"Oh, the watchers probably saw all of this, so I won't need to explain anything," he said, starting to pull back on his Court mask. I realized in that moment, after just seeing him so loose without it, that I didn't like that mask. In fact, if it were something tangible, I'd rip it off of his face and burn it, it was that irritating.

"Are you going to get in trouble?" I asked.

"With Vidanric, perhaps," he acknowledged. "But not with anyone else. As I said, it was my day off."

"Why would Father care?"

He glanced at me with acid in his gaze. "Are you telling me that you don't think he minds your tendencies to socialize with me, the traitor, the kidnapper, the attempted usurper? Oh, and, I forgot, attempted and actualized murderer."

I blushed. "I hadn't really thought about it," I admitted. "It's not that I've forgotten what you've done, it's that I just don't find you very scary anymore."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. He started stalking back in the direction of the Servant's Entrance to Athanarel. I trotted to catch up with him.

"What?" I asked, confused. "I don't."

"Go and get your nice warm bath, Princess," he sneered, "before you catch cold."

I stopped in surprise. Was this not the same man I had been throwing mud at a few minutes ago? It didn't seem like it, though the body was the same. He had just been joking around with me, and now he was mad at me for some reason. I was completely befuddled, and starting to get angry, myself. I picked up another mud clod, and this time when I threw it at him it was in all seriousness.

"You... you... ass!" I yelled at his back after the mud hit with force. "The only reason you're suddenly in a bad mood is that you're mad I don't think that you are the beginning and end of terrifying! How sane and mature is that?! And you called me a child?!"

He stopped in his tracks and spun around, walking back a few paces. "What do you know?" he shouted.

"I know that I have never tried to convince myself that you aren't dangerous, Flauvic, but I know that there are things and people in this world that scare me a lot more than you do!" I shouted back. "The one thing that's keeping you from being a friend is that you think that you have to intimidate me and make me afraid of you; for you to keep people in some kind of control if you want to be near them. Well, here's an urgent message just for you, Flauvic: I don't care how terrible you are. You are a coward if you have to hide behind your vile reputation rather than admit you were wrong and try to be better. I know, for a fact, that there is more to you than just the evil sorcerer and man who tried to claim the throne. I saw it today. You are no different than most of the people I know- a mixture of good and bad. You're just too scared to let anyone near enough to see it. Guessed you slipped, huh?"

This time I was the one who whirled around and stalked off. The only difference was, he didn't try to call me back. It hurt and made me even angrier than I was to begin with. When I reached my room, Maureen looked like she was going to have a fit.

"What happened to you, Your Highness?" she asked worriedly, helping me undress.

"I got in a mud fight," I answered shortly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

I walked down to my private bathroom and told Maureen to bring me a clean robe in an hour or so. I had a long, hot soak to make up for the brief, cool one I'd had outside. Before I went to sleep, I wrote in my diary and had a big mug of listerblossom tea to try and fend off a cold. It didn't work. By the next morning I was coughing and running a fever. I couldn't decide if it was all Flauvic's fault, or just what I deserved.

* * *

POST-A/N: Well?


	15. Spyears

PRE-A/N: I bring you another double update. I couldn't help it. I loooooove Mud War, but here's where, ya know, the plot actually starts to solidify. Yes, there's an actual plot. It surprised me too at first. You'll like it, though. There's action and squish.

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CHAPTER 15- Spy-Ears

I had to stay in bed for nearly a week while I was running a fever and coughing. My parents came to chastise me for going out in the rain when I should have known better. If Father had gotten word of who I had been with, he didn't say anything. He was one of the best people I knew who could hide their thoughts without anyone else knowing- except Mother, of course. She always called him on it.

Phillo came to visit me, of course. We had to keep Maureen in the room with us as a chaperone, to make sure that nothing would happen. Not that it would. I felt ten times worse thinking about how I was leading him on, than I already did. He was sweet and brought me gifts to encourage me to get well soon, and kept me knowledgeable about what was going on in Court. I was as nice as possible. Most of the time, though, all I wanted was to be left alone.

Finally I was well enough to go out and socialize a little with my friends. Tara commented on how pale and sickly I still looked. Kitten was nicer and tried to cheer me up by giving me lots of goodies to help me get my strength back. I took walks with my friends around the main corridors of Athanarel and talked about stupid, meaningless things. In those next few weeks I avoided anywhere that Flauvic might be. I was still mad at him for being mad at me for no good reason.

The rainy season didn't last as long as I was afraid it would. In weeks I was out riding Bluewood through the woods around the palace with everyone else. During one riding party, Kitten started to tell us how depressed she was that she had to go home soon, to help her parents take care of the spring planting agenda at Tlanth. I thought about going with her this year. I wanted to live simply for a while, with no one twisting me in seven different directions. I also thought that maybe the change of scenery would help me get over the niggling troubled feeling that was still haunting me.

"You want to go to Tlanth?" Mother asked in surprise when I broached the subject at dinner one evening.

"I haven't been for there since the war, and I think I should go and see my heritage," I said, just like I'd rehearsed. "I go to see Renselaeus and Shevraeth almost every year. I think it's important to experience both of my homes, so to speak."

"I think it's a fine idea," Father commented.

I looked him in the eye. He was being very careful, and even eager to let me go. I think he _had_ heard what had happened that day in the rain and wanted me as far away from the palace as possible until the year and a half of Flauvic's sentence was up. He only had five months left, I realized with a jolt.

"Well, if Bran and Nee don't mind, I think it would be good for you to go," Mother agreed.

I turned my gaze on her and wondered how much _she_ knew. She was never very good at hiding her thoughts and emotions, so I figured that I was safe since I didn't see any of the things I had in Father's face.

"Good," I said. "Kitten leaves in two weeks. Do you think we could get a message to Uncle Bran and get a response before then?"

"The roads are dry," Father pointed out. "If we sent a courier, they could get back a few days before you would have to leave. At worst, you and your cousin would have to leave a few days later than planned. I don't see a reason for Branaric to say that you couldn't come."

"Wonderful," I smiled.

The rest of that dinner passed peacefully, but I somehow felt that I had been tricked, or herded, into the direction Father had wanted me to go. It wasn't pleasant.

***^^^***^^^***

Father sent a courier with a message to my aunt and uncle the next day. I only had to wait and see if I could go. As Father said, though, there was no reason for them to say no. I told Kitten what I was planning and she seemed genuinely excited. She always hated having to go home alone. She got lonely. I told Phillo the same day, and he was less happy about the prospect of me leaving for a month or more. I told him that we could write every week, but my heart wasn't in it. I found that getting away from him and my guilt was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Tlanth, rather than be brave and face him and the fact that our so-called relationship was a dud.

Three days before Kitten's scheduled departure, the courier returned bearing the news that I was more than welcome to visit. I thanked the woman who had ridden so hard for so long just to get the messages delivered, and told her that she could have a full week off to rest and recuperate, making sure that my Father didn't mind.

I went to my room and had Maureen help me pack what I would need to stay at Tlanth for maybe six weeks. The society there wasn't nearly as strict as it was in Remalna-city and the palace. I only packed two really good dresses in a trunk with under-things and shoes and all of the other necessities that I would need to go with them. The rest of my normal clothes went in a separate trunk and had everything from my riding gear to two respectable, comfortable, evening dresses. I was a minimalist at heart.

The afternoon before Kitten and I left to go to her home, I changed into riding gear, pulled my hair back into a braid, and went for a little excursion on Bluewood, who I was going to have to leave at Athanarel while I was away. I was going to miss the faithful stallion. He was one of the few people I trusted to listen to me and not judge whether or not I was an idiot. We went mainly through the horse paths around the grounds. I pretty much let Bluewood pick the trail we took. I trusted him, and he knew my habits enough to pick my favorite paths, the ones around the outsides of the gardens and the ones near the secluded parts of the outer wall that were grown over with moss and ivy. It was there that I heard two men talking before I rounded a sharp corner. I pulled Bluewood to a stop and started to turn back, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation, until I recognized one voice as Flauvic's.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I am asking for your help," the other said. "My king wants back some of the land that was lost during the war; land that was taken my Remalna."

I couldn't place the second person, but his voice sounded familiar, as if I should know who it was.

"I was under the impression that Remalna had a small part in the war," Flauvic said. "That it was basically a battle field for both sides to run over, and didn't take a major part. Certainly, the army is not big enough to go conquering."

"True," the second man conceded, "Remalna did not fight to gain any land, but, when the new borders were drawn after the leaders of the war called a truce, my country lost several fiefs and counties to Remalna near the Hiedaki River."

The Hiedaki River was near Denlieff. It struck me then who the other man was: Lord Rathimon! And he was trying to get Flauvic to help him retake the territories that sided with us in the war. But...?

"Why was Remalna given this land," Flauvic asked suspiciously.

"Because the nobles that owned these counties sided with Remalna and Sartor instead of with the rest of Denlieff. I'm sure you'd heard of that alliance by now."

"I have."

"When the war ended, the nobles feared the punishment they would receive from our king, so they asked that they be allowed under the banner of Remalnan citizen."

"What are you proposing that I do, exactly?" Flauvic asked.

"Just keep the royal family busy while our soldiers retake the land," Rathimon said. "For your help, my king is prepared to reward you with the title to a very large potion of the reclaimed property."

"I have a title," Flauvic said icily.

"Merindar is very near the edge of one of the fiefs that was incorporated into Remalna," the ambassador mentioned, seemingly off hand. "You could combine the land that His Majesty, King Uland, rewards you with to the land that is already under your title to make Merindar one of the largest estates in either kingdom. You will, of course, have to break your oaths, should any still exist, with Remalna and pledge allegiance to Denlieff and become a citizen of my country, but, somehow, I don't see that as a problem."

"That's all, is it?" Flauvic sneered. "And what if this little expenditure of yours fails? I don't know about you, but I have run out of second chances with my dear cousin. If I am caught aiding you in this, I will be put to death."

I was so glad that he had thought of that. I really didn't want to imagine that he was going to take Rathimon up on his proposition. Still, I couldn't think of a reason he wouldn't.

"We won't fail," Rathimon assured him. "The king's strategists have been planning this for years. That is why I have come to Remalna- to see if what the king's strength and weaknesses are. Had you not been here, we would have found someone else to approach with this offer, but you seem much more likely to help us than the man I had originally picked out. You have no love for this court, and they have none for you. You would not be betraying anyone that you were not prepared to kill once before."

Flauvic was quiet for a few moments. The only sounds I heard were the singing of the birds and the breathing of Bluewood and me. As the seconds dragged on, my heart sped up until I could hear the drumming in my ears. I saw no reason for him not to take Rathimon's offer, and he wasn't protesting undying loyalty to Father.

I slid off of my horse, careful not to make any noise, holding the reins near his bit to keep them from jingling. I quickly led Bluewood away from the two men and their conspiracy, planning what to tell my parents. I had been wrong about Flauvic all along. It wasn't something I was proud of to admit that I had been so fooled to believe that he had changed.

"Give me a day to plan," Flauvic said. "Then I'll tell you what will be done."

"One day," I heard Rathimon agree as I led Bluewood back down the path. He said more but I had moved out of hearing range once again.

When I felt that they were too far behind us to hear the noise, I leapt onto Bluewood's back and rode back to the stables as quickly as I could without drawing unwanted attention. I thought as I rode. I didn't want to arouse either man's suspicions until it was too late for them to escape, nor did I want to alarm the rest of Athanarel, so I had to act calm and normal. I slid out of the saddle again once I reached the wide, tall doors of the stable, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. I was greeted by a few of my friends and servant's who knew me. I smiled nervously back and took Bluewood to his stall. I cared for him as I always did after a ride. I took off his saddle and blanket and put them on his tack shelf. I removed his bit and bridal and hung them on a nail, only slightly surprised to see my hands shaking. I took down his brush and tried to concentrate on brushing him while my heart drummed a march tempo in my chest.

"Back so soon, Princess?"

* * *

POST-A/N: Bet you thought it was going to be Lord Nerroc stirring up trouble, didn't you? Gotcha! It works better this way, if you think about it. Trust me. Author is good, author is wise.


	16. Unexpected Ally

PRE-A/N: Ahhh! I'm finally in my dorm room. My roommate's asleep. I wouldn't mind sleeping, too, but my head's all jumbled and roudy. I have to go to the campus library to update still. I can't figure out the internet hook-up in my room. Grr. My phone doesn't work either. They just put in the new system where the phone and internet is combined.

Have you ever noticed that when somebody tries to give you an upgrade, usually they're just giving you something you don't need, don't want, and has a tendency to slow your life down.

-AutumnFaery: Man, you left a looong review. Hey, not complaining since it was all goodness and flattery toward me. Thank you for all that. I'm very flattered you think so highly of me. And I totally agree about the instant love thing. One of my biggest pet peeves is when charac's just suddenly meet and they know that they're meant to be together and then there's snogging and the popping of the question about five seconds into their relationship. Grr. Drives me nuts! Which is why I didn't do that. Also, Thank's for the cookie!

-Ekirth: Was that a threat you left me? I'm shocked! Now, okay, I gotta warn you, there's a horse that's named Ekirthi in this chap. I named the horse before I even posted this story, and it has nothing to do with you, I swear!

-Wake-Robin: Do you honestly think...no, wait. Just read.

-Felsong: Thanx. I hope Dan would really act like that. I think he would, considering.

-SoccerFreak2516: Good guess. No worries, though. Flauvic's in my hands. Om swammi swami.

BIG DISCLAIMER: The horse in this story has no reference whatsoever about Ekirth the reader. Oh, and I don't own CCD or Beauty.

* * *

CHAPTER 16- Unexpected Ally

I jumped and nearly screamed at Flauvic's voice behind me. How did he get back so fast? A thousand scenarios passed through my mind of him somehow knowing that I had overheard his conversation with Rathimon and using me to get to my parents. Maybe he could read my mind. Maybe he would put me under some kind of spell that would make me tell him everything I had heard and was planning to do. I gulped and took a deep breath to steady my nerves, but I could not face him.

"I didn't go too far," I said.

"Still mad, are you?"

I hesitated. It was probably for a second too long, because he stepped into the stall with me and Blue. My heart slammed in fear and betrayal, and I moved a step away from him. He paused.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said.

"No," I countered, trying to sound sure but wanting him to leave. "Not at all. I hadn't even thought about it since then. I'm just very busy and need to get back soon, so could you please go so I can get done here?"

"You lie badly, Elestra," he observed.

His use of my name stopped me. He never used it, always calling me Princess, or just 'you.' I flicked my eyes to him, and nearly ran out of the stall, not bothering to put the horse brush back. I felt that I had to be out of such small quarters with him. Looking back, he seemed more confused than threatening. The others in the building glanced at me, not knowing what had happened.

I put the horse brush down on a table, turned, and walked out of the stable, hoping Bluewood would forgive me, but I had more important things to do. I had nearly made it to the Servant's Entrance, the closest door to the stable, when an almost familiar strong arm snaked around me, locking my arms to my sides, and his hand went across my mouth to keep me quiet. Flauvic pulled me behind a large shrub boarder that blocked us from anyone else's sight. Unlike the first time, now I tried to scream.

"What are you doing?" Flauvic asked impatiently. "What is wrong with you? You're acting like... no, you're acting worse than a child. You didn't even act this badly that night in the Throne Room."

I froze, fighting tears for the first time in years. One slipped and rolled down my cheek, seeping into the crevice between his hand and my mouth.

"Are you crying?!"

He spun me around to face him, dislodging more tears.

"I heard you!" I sobbed, pitiful and ashamed at my own stupidity.

His brows plummeted and he became cautious. "What are you--"

"With Rathimon!" I clarified. "I heard him ask you to 'distract' my parents while Denlieff soldiers attack the country near the Heidaki River. And anything you do is my fault, because I let you have this chance; because I helped you, I let you back into Athanarel."

Flauvic went pale, and then his cheeks flushed red. "You were there. You were listening. Hasn't anyone told you that eavesdroppers always get exactly what they deserve?"

"I can't let you hurt my family," I said, voice thick with tears.

"Did you also hear that I never agreed that I would help him?"

"You asked for a day!"

"But did I say, 'Yes, I'll help you?'"

I thought back.

"....No."

"I'm not stupid, Princess," he said softly. "And, despite what you may think--one: I'm not in the habit of turning against my allies- strangely, that counts you, for the very reason that you mentioned; two: I try not to repeat stupid, asinine plots that don't work. I'm rather intelligent enough to think up new ones. And three: Remalna is my home; I wanted to rule it, not destroy it."

My tears stopped as I tried to figure out what he meant by all that.

"So, you're not going to hurt my family?"

"I don't give a burning rat's tail about your family," he snapped. He winced and shook his head, saying softly, "No. No I'm not going to hurt them, but Rathimon's contingency plan is to hold a knife to you, your brother and Meliara's throat to get Vidanric to sign over the rights to the lost land. I tried to tell him that it wouldn't work, but when do power hungry villains listen to good advice?"

I gurgled a laugh at his joke, but sobered immediately.

"We have to go warn them," I said, pulling away.

"I couldn't agree more, but I have to go stop Rathimon's courier from reaching his troops."

"What?"

"He sent ahead a rider to tell his waiting troops to attack. By the time the courier gets there, my one day will have been up, and your parents taken care of, so it would have theoretically been safe to attack. Didn't you hear that while you were listening in?" Flauvic asked.

I blushed, now ashamed that I had been a spy-ears, even if it was for a good cause. "No," I mumbled, using my sleeve to wipe away my tears and discreetly dab my nose. "I had ridden off by then. So, what do you plan to do? And, how did you get back so quickly?"

"The horse trails curve; I just walked straight back, cutting through the trees," he said. Then, sighing, he rubbed a hand over his eyes. He straightened his shoulders and said, "Now, you go and warn Danric and Meliara; I'll steal a horse and try to catch the rider. I only stopped by the stables when I found out that you had just ridden in so that I could make my peace with you before I left. Now, if I wait any longer I'll be too far behind to catch up before the courier completes his mission. Wish me luck--"

"Wait! Come on," I said, tugging on his arm.

He followed grudgingly, complaining that he was losing time. Soon enough, using the servants' passages, we reached the library. I found a carrel with paper, pen and ink. I penned a message to Father informing him of Rathimon's treachery, letting him know what I was doing, and asking him to send back up as soon as possible. A second letter went to Flauvic's warden, Geoff, telling him that his charge was with me, and that he wasn't to be punished for shirking his duties today. I called for a palace messenger to take the second letter to Geoff, and told her to have the first given to my parents at dinner tonight, which I wouldn't be attending. All the while, Flauvic was practically bouncing with impatience.

"Elestra, what are you doing?" he asked, following me down the corridors once I had dismissed the messenger.

"We doing," I corrected him again, looking for a supply closet. "We are going to stop that courier."

He stopped dead in his tracks and glared at me. "No. You can't come. Your parents would have me killed for that alone. This is for me to do. You are not going to be in my way when I find the courier."

"You didn't think I was going to let you go alone, did you?" I asked impatiently. "Now, come on. We have to get out of here soon, or the rider will be farther ahead than he is already. Do you know where they keep the extra blankets and such?"

"You are not coming," he reiterated, not moving.

I sighed and tried to think of a logical way to argue my point. Mother once told me that, to get Father to let me have my way, I needed to be logical- men love logic.

"Flauvic, what if you're hurt?" I asked. "Or, what will happen if you're caught by Remalnan troops before you can stop the rider? Most likely, they won't believe a single thing you say, bring you back, and then not only are you in suspicion, but we still have a war to worry about. It would be your word against theirs, and-- I'm sorry to say it, but-- who is going to believe you? Second of all, I won't be in your way. You've seen that I'm a good hand in a fight, and what if you need help?"

He growled through his teeth and paced a few steps away and back. "Fine! Fine, the supply closet is down further, and if you get us caught, or get hurt, you make sure you tell Danric and your _mother_ that I was against you coming, got that?"

I nodded. We grabbed blankets, and then I told Flauvic to find us some weapons and I would meet him at the stable. I went to the kitchens and politely asked if I could have enough food packed for a picnic this afternoon; now, if possible. The food was packed, mostly sandwiches, fruit, and cheese. They gave me a thermos of hard apple juice for us- them thinking that it was Phillo I was going to be with- to drink. I thanked them and met Flauvic at the stable.

Again, I did the talking and had Flauvic wait outside, not wanting to get him into trouble, and to keep suspicion down. I had a second horse prepared by one of the hostlers and went to get Bluewood myself.

"I'm sorry, boy," I apologized to him. "You're going to be put through quite a workout today, but you're the fastest horse here, and I need you."

He nodded his head as if he knew what was about to happen and accepted my apology. I wondered for the hundredth time in my life exactly how much animals did understand. I found that Mignon had saddled Ekirthi, another descendant of Father's old grey. He would be able to keep up with Bluewood easily. I thanked her and took both horses outside and around the side of the building where Flauvic waited.

He threw me a sheathed sword. I caught it and buckled it on to my belt before mounting up.

"Ready for a ride?" I asked, waiting for him to get settled in Ekirthi's saddle.

He nodded and we went to the most little used gate, rarely guarded because it was of no strategic value. Riding out, we quickly founded our way to the country roads and started racing to catch up with the courier Rathimon had sent to tell his troops to move in. I set a hard pace, wanting to stop another war from happening that would take Father and Mother away to fight and make Alec worry and Oria would feel like she had to come home to help. Maybe this time Alaraec would go with them to fight Denlieff and leave me to take care of the kingdom. What if they all died in this war? All of these thoughts made me push Bluewood for all he was worth. He may not have understood exactly what was happening, but he understood my urgency.

The weather stayed dry that day, which I think both Flauvic and I, as well as the horses, were grateful for. We passed over the Akaeriki River Bridge, built after the war had burned down the original, as the sun set behind the mountains in the west. On an unspoken understanding of gravity of the situation, neither of us stopped to rest until full dark had fallen and even the courier would have to rest. We chose a spot near a shallow stream and good grass for the horses, unsaddled them and used the saddles as pillows. We got drinks from the water, too, and rolled out our blankets under some nearby brush to keep us dry if one of the country's frequent, sporadic rain showers happened in the night.

"Do you want to take first watch, or should I?" I asked.

"I will," he said, settling down on a rock to keep his pants clean. It actually made me smile, for no real reason.

"Since we probably won't be able to hear any bell-changes out here, wake me up when you get too tired," I told him.

He nodded, and I wrapped myself up in the blanket. Just as I was about to drift off, I had a horrible thought, much like when Flauvic had first un-become a tree and surprised me in the Throne Room. What if this was his way of distracting my parents? What if he somehow managed to intercept both letters I wrote so that I was just missing to my parents? Maybe he used magic to wipe away what was written in the letters and so it read as a ransom note? Or, maybe, he clouded my mind to make me think that I had written that I was going with him voluntarily, but what I really wrote was something else. Maybe a soldier from Denlieff was going to come tonight and use me as a prisoner to make Father sign over the territories to King Uland. Maybe this was all a trap.

After that, I couldn't sleep, even though I really wanted to. Needed to. I couldn't rest until I found out what was going to happen, preparing myself to have to use my sword on him, instead of the couriers, if there really were any. I waited late into the night, watching as Flauvic got up to walk around a bit, splash water on his face to keep himself awake, and finally sit with his back supported by the rock. I tried to keep watching him, but my eyelids refused to cooperate. They drifted down- I jerked them back up. They felt as heavy as bricks, and I finally couldn't keep them up. I fell asleep against my will, not waking until the sun broke the horizon, shining right into my face.


	17. En Memonriam

PRE-A/N: Um... so, yeah. I don't have anything broad and sweeping to say, except, here ya go.

-Ekirth: Hey, I double checked, and I think that "ekirth" is a single gem; it's an ekirth. And the plural is "ekirthi." And you totally got what I was going for with Mel's ring to Danric, and the horse being named after that. Cookie for you!

Disclaimer: Blah.

* * *

CHAPTER 17- En Memoriam

"Flauvic! It's dawn!" I yelled, struggling to get out of the blanket that was cocooned around me.

He jerked and tried to register what I had said. At the sight of the rosy sun he realized that he had fallen asleep. "Burn me! Stupid! Idiot..."

I listened to him curse at himself as he got to his feet and we rushed to collect the horses.

"Why didn't you wake me up to take a turn on watch?!" I yelled at him as we quickly re-saddled Bluewood and Ekirthi.

"Because I wasn't expecting to fall asleep," he pointed out acidicly.

"When your eyes started drooping, you didn't catch on?" I snipped.

"I was-- forget it! Just get on the horse and let's start riding before we fall further behind."

Needless to say, we were probably over a day behind the courier by now. I couldn't think of any way that we were going to catch him (or her) before he (or she) reached the Denlieff troops. On the up side, I didn't think that Flauvic was planning something anymore. I don't think he would have accidentally fallen asleep if he were waiting for someone to come get me. And I know by how angry he was at himself that he hadn't fallen asleep on purpose to delay us further. He wouldn't have cursed so much, or be this annoyed if it hadn't been a real accident. At least, I was pretty sure.

We rode hard for what I guessed were the first two golds, then slowed our pace to try and keep the horses fresh. By what I figured had to be first green, we were both too hungry to go on, neither of us having eaten since yesterday's lunch. We found a pond and hobbled the horses close to us to let them graze and drink. Flauvic and I ate half of the sandwiches, fruit and cheese that were packed by the palace kitchen staff and drank the hard apple juice that had gone flat on the ride. I rebraided my hair, which had fallen nearly completely out. After we were finished with what we had rationed for ourselves, we got back on the horses and started another hard ride.

As dusk fell, Flauvic started looking around at the country-side. He tended to slow his pace often to take in a farm house or a rock formation.

"Flauvic," I called to him for the tenth time. "We aren't here to sight-see."

He shook his head, a thoughtful expression lingering on his face. "I think I know where we are."

"North of Remalna-city, and on our way to the border, yes, I know," I said.

"Yes, but we are also nearing Merindar."

Had I not been on a moving horse, I would have stopped dead in my tracks. I hadn't realized how close we were going to be to Flauvic's home.

"Oh," was all I could think to say.

"I think I know a way to cut over half a day's ride off of our time," he said, reining in Ekirthi.

"How's that?" I asked, pulled Bluewood to a restless stop.

"We ride through Merindar," he explained. "The road curves out around the village and farmland. It's nearly full-dark. No one will be out in the fields to see us. We can pass close to White Flower Forest so that if anyone sees us, they'll probably think we're ghosts."

"Ghosts in a place called White Flower?" I asked.

"It's very haunted, if I remember correctly," he nodded. "Of course, it has been over thirty years since I've been back."

"Right," I said. I thought about it for a moment, but in the end, I saw no other real way to cut off that kind of time. We needed to get ahead of the courier. "Alright, Flauvic, lead the way."

He took point and led us through a field that butted up against a pretty meadow. The light died and we slowly threaded out way between the first few trees of White Flower Forest, always keeping a clear sight of the fields and pasture land. Time passed slowly. I had no idea if we'd been in the woods for less than a bell, or if it was already headed toward first white-change. I kept Bluewood's nose close to Ekirthi's flank so that we wouldn't get lost.

After what seemed like a very long while, we passed a wrought-iron fence illuminated by the silver light of the quarter moon. Flauvic drew his horse to a stop so suddenly that Bluewood and I nearly ran into him and Ekirthi.

"What happened?" I asked, fearing that it was something bad.

"This is the local cemetery."

In Remalna, we burn our dead on funeral pyres, but have their names chiseled into a polished granite wall so that they would never be forgotten. Each family gets a wall in the local cemetery that they recorded their dead on. I didn't understand what significance it had to Flauvic, though. Then I remembered back to his statement about the forest being haunted and wondered if he was afraid of ghosts.

"Flauvic, ghosts aren't real, you know that," I said. "There is no reason to worry or be sc-"

"I'm not scared of ghosts, Princess," he sneered. "Those were stories told to children to keep us from going into the forest and getting hurt or lost, regardless of the Hill Folk."

"Then why are we stopping?" I asked, exasperated.

"Because this is where my father, and my uncle...and my mother now, I suppose, are recorded."

"Oh," I whispered, chagrined. "I didn't think... didn't.... I'm sorry."

He spurred his mount forward in a trot. I urged mine to follow and soon found myself rounding the corner of the fence. A few more strides and we reached a gate. Flauvic dismounted and tied his reins to a metal post; I followed suit wanting to see what he was going to do. He stepped inside and walked down a thin path toward the largest, most elegant wall in the cemetery. The closer we came to the wall, the more overgrown the path became. No one had walked to this memorial in more than twenty years.

I stayed several steps behind him, wanting to give him as much privacy as I could, but still be close enough so that... I had no idea, actually. It seemed like a stupid idea that he would need me, or anyone else, but I wanted to be near. Just in case. Silly of me.

Flauvic stopped beside the black granite wall, still remaining so polished that it nearly glowed under the moonlight. He ran his fingers over the engraved names, pausing near the end to trace the letters of one.

"My uncle was not mentally stable, did you know that?"

I hesitated, not quite knowing what to say. "I-I've heard stories...."

"He was highly paranoid," Flauvic said, very calmly, as if he were talking about the weather or what he had for dinner. "He had many people killed that he thought were trying to overthrow him. Most of those people were innocent. The one's that actually were trying to, somehow managed to get passed his suspicion."

He was talking about my parents. I wondered if he was still mad that they had denied him his claim to the throne. He couldn't be, could he? It was so long ago, and everyone had come so far since then.

"He had my father killed," Flauvic murmured almost too softly for me to hear.

I just looked at him, not sure I had heard him correctly, or what to say about it if I did.

"He didn't even warn my mother," Flauvic continued numbly. "It rained the day the news came. Maybe that's when the curse started, hm?"

"Flauvic, I had no idea," I whispered, not able to think of anything better to say.

"Galdran privately informed the family in a letter that my father, along with two of his brothers, was found dead by a riding of his personal guards. There were no specifics in the letter, of course, just that we were called to Court to stay for a while until things got settled. We left Merindar when I was nine, and my sister was nearly eleven. Mother withdrew from us the second we arrived at Merindar House on palace grounds and abandoned us to the care of governesses and tutors. Less than a year later, I was shipped to Sles Adran to be a page."

"Artha must have wanted you as far away from your uncle as possible in case he decided that you were a threat, as well," I mused.

He turned to me for the first time since spotting the cemetery. I walked over to him, wanting to wipe that look of suffering off of his face.

"I think you give her too much credit," he said, his voice finally holding an emotion: anger. "She wanted to keep her second heir safe, her last chance at royalty if Fialma wasn't named crown princess. It was the heir she wanted to save, not her son."

I shook my head, stopping a step in front of him. I couldn't believe that of anyone, although I knew in my head that some people truly could be that cold. "I think that any mother would want to make sure that her child was safe, even if that meant sending him far away. Maybe that's the only way she could think of to keep you from being a suspect, or a hostage."

"Then why didn't she send Fialma away, as well?" he snapped.

I winced, not wanting to say what I thought, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear that had come loose. I tried to think of a tactful way to put it. "From what I have heard of your sister, she doesn't seem like she would ever be a suspect of much of anything."

He snorted derisively and turned back to the wall. He stood for a few more minutes, staring silently. Soon he backed away from the cold granite, reaching out to brush his fingers over his father's name one last time. He sighed and turned back to me.

"Let's get going. We've probably fallen behind again by now."

I nodded, and we left the cemetary without another word.

We collected the tired horses and decided to keep riding for a while longer before bedding down for the night. We were actually close enough to a bell tower to hear the change over from first white to second. After the bell-change, we hobbled the horses and let them rest for the night and eat grass. I was sorry that we couldn't provide them with better. I took first watch that night, but was smart enough to get some sleep myself. Flauvic wasn't happy about being woken up, but I was less than pleased with my scant time to sleep as well.

When I went to get Bluewood, I noticed that he was struggling and limping. My stomach plummeted and I looked over to see how Ekirthi was doing. He seemed fine, but I was sure that the other horse was as exhausted as Blue was.

"Flauvic," I called his attention. "These horses can't go on today. What are we going to do?"

"Mine's fine," he said grumpily.

"Flauvic, Ekirthi's just as tired as Bluewood is. We have to find an inn and change horses."

He looked over his horse and tried to judge exactly how tired the horse was. He scowled and nodded. "Fine. There's an inn at the far end of Merindar- or it was there last I remember. We'll trade mounts there if it's still standing. But we're losing time."

I put the saddle and blanket on Bluewood, but led him by his reins to the inn. I told Flauvic to ride ahead so that we wouldn't lose too much time on Rathimon's courier. Lucky for us, the Red-Wing Hawk Inn was still in business. When I got to the inn I was told that the runner that had come earlier had told the hostler that I would be coming and to give me the fasted horse they had at their disposal; we were on official business from the capitol. I was both relieved and hurt for him that no one had recognized Flauvic. Of course, anyone who might was probably losing their eyesight by now, and he had been a small child when he had left Merindar for Athanarel, and then Sles Adran, so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise.

"Take good care of Blue for me," I told the stable boy. "He's got a sore leg from running so long."

"He'll be in good care," he promised me.

I took the fresh horse and made my way to catch up with Flauvic. I hoped that I hadn't fallen too far behind, that he wasn't in danger and I wasn't there to help. I would feel like a horrible traitor if I didn't do my part to help.


	18. The First Skirmish

PRE-A/N: Another double update. Oo-hoo! Just a warning, this chapter gets kinda gory. Or, what I imagine gory would be experienced as. In case I haven't said it yet, I'm a big fan of keeping even fiction close to reality in some respects.

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CHAPTER 18- The First Skirmish 

_(to Flauvic)_

Flauvic had no idea how far behind him she was. He was just hoping that she caught up soon. Her horse was limping this morning, so that probably slowed her down even more. Admittedly, though, the horses had needed to be changed. His couldn't have made it through the day. Elestra could always see things like that before he could; it made him wonder if she didn't have some magical gifts after all. Or perhaps it was simply her ability to empathise with everyone, everthing....

He rode the borrowed horse harder than he had ridden the other, even, hoping to get ahead of the courier before night fell again. This was too close to the border he had known for all of his life until recently. If Denlieff wanted to retake the border then the troops had to be near. What if they were on the move already? Hurry up, Elestra.

He slowed the horse to a determined walk near noon to eat the meat pie that he had gotten a serving girl at the inn to let him have without paying for it. She would probably get in trouble for it if someone found out, and the strange thing was, he sort of felt bad about it for once. He remembered that the horse probably needed to rest for a moment only once he spotted a large creek he knew fed into the Hiedaki River and realized how thirsty he was. It made sense to water the horse at the same time.

Flauvic chose a spot near a sapling greenwood tree surrounded by brush to keep him hidden and keep the horse from running off. He brushed his now shoulder-length hair out of his way, cupped his hands and dipped them in the creek, loving the feel of the cool water on his blistering hands. He hadn't ridden a horse in over a year. The horse dipped its head to drink and mount and rider mirrored each other for a few moments. It struck him again just how much his circumstance- and maybe he himself- had changed in what felt like such a short time, to be taking refreshments with a horse.

There was a sudden tremble in the earth around his knees nearly missed his attention while he mused over his situation, though. It was the horse's ears flicking back to pick up the sound that alerted him to someone's approach.

'But is it Elestra or the messenger?' he wondered.

Flauvic ran in a crouch to the side of the road and said a few words in Adrani, the language he had first learned magic in, and immediately his vision sharpened and his eyes became like spyglasses, able to see far down the road. It wasn't the princess. And there were three of them, all wearing the livery of Rathimon's personal staff.

Flauvic quickly dismantled the simple spell and took a deep breath. It looked like the short cut through Merindar had worked. Unfortunately, he was going to have to take care of the riders by himself. The best way for him to do this was to get the riders on the ground. From there he could take care of them. On horseback they had the advantage, and he was a poor hand at mounted fighting, besides the fact that the simple country horse he was on wasn't bred or trained to be in a fight. Flauvic drew his blade and hoped that what he was planning worked.

***^^^***^^^***

_(to Elestra)_

I let the reins slack so that the only job they had was to help me stay on while the horse galloped his way down the dirt road like tamed lightening, following the tracks of the three riders that I had seen cresting a hill not a league in front of me. I hoped that Flauvic had managed to get in front of them and would see them coming before they were upon him. If we were going to succeed in this adventure now was the time to make our move. I just wished I was up ahead with him to meet the messengers instead of having to catch up with him.

I had ridden for nearly two bell-changes trying to catch the riders, but the horse was getting tired and we would soon need to stop and rest. I lost sight of them as the road turned and the sound of running water met with the sound of hooves and the thicket around us. It was at here that the sound of clanging steel and shouts diverted my attention. I pulled the horse to a walk and unsheathed my sword, proceeding carefully around the bend to find Flauvic going have-at-'em with two of the riders I had been chasing since morning.

I hesitated for an instant. I didn't think it would be right to attack without some warning, so I put my fingers to my mouth and let loose an ear-splitting whistle. The four men turned to see me at once and the horses shied and whinnied. One of the men on the ground recovered and moved away from Flauvic and rummaged in his belt purse while I faced off against the one that was still on horse back. I moved my sights back to the mounted man and charged. He had a moment to stare in confusion, getting his horse to behave, then barely cleared his sword from sheathe before I was on him.

It was like battling in the training yards when I was younger, but this time there was no one to call foul or cry off when things got too rough. If I didn't finish this duel, I would be the one lying dead in the road, so I made the decision to do my duty.

We traded small injuries- a nicked shoulder, a bit of sliced skin here and there- for what seemed like years while the echo of clashing steel came from Flauvic and his opponents. After a series of traded thrusts and parries I found an opening to end the fight. The blade when in his chest easily, as the messenger wore no armor, likely suspecting that it would have brought unwanted attention. I felt the give of flesh under the point of my sword and kept pushing, the blood pounding in my ears to drown out any other sound. The man's eyes widened, dropping his sword, and his mouth gasped for air, blood trickled out of one corner and dribbled down his chin. He slumped in the saddle, then fell to the ground, wrenching the sword out of my shock-loosened grip and taking it with him. His horse bucked to get the weight off of its back, prancing and shifting away from the smell of blood, setting my horse to imitate it.

The world started to narrow down and the sound of rushing that had nothing to do with the water I had heard filled my ears. I got my horse under control and dismounted as quickly as I could, keeping to the side away from the man I had just murdered. It didn't occur to me until I found myself wide open to attack as I came around the far side of the mount that Flauvic had still been facing off against two men while I was... dealing with the third. I looked over just in time to watch him dispatch the last of the riders that we had come so far to stop, the first lying just outside a widening circle of blood-soaked dirt. We had succeeded. We had won. I was going to be violently sick.

I stumbled to a nearby bush and fell to my knees. The change in altitude brought up the meager breakfast that I had had at the inn up with a vengeance. After everything that I had eaten was gone my stomach still heaved, trying to bring something up, but there was nothing left. I was sobbing and hiccupping as bile rose up from my stomach to replace the depleted food supply. Before it was over, I registered the feel of warm hands on my forehead keeping my braid and whatever hair had come free back from my face. I got control of my insides eventually and managed to speak.

"Th-that wa-was the f-f-first time I ev-v-ver killed some-wu-wu-one," I choked out, tears streaming down my face.

"Come on to the brook and wash your mouth out," Flauvic instructed, his voice oddly slower and more strained than usual, though I was too anxious to pay much attention to it. "You should put some on your neck, too. It'll help cool you down so that you don't hyperventilate."

I nodded and the two of us stumbled over to the gurgling water. I kept my face averted and made sure to sink to my knees slowly this time. I cupped my hands and found a wound I hadn't noticed before. It was a small gash on my right hand thumb reaching nearly to my wrist. I used only my left hand, filled it with clean water and tried to get as much in my mouth as possible. It took three tries to get more than a few drops. I swished it around in my mouth to take out the taste of second hand breakfast then spit it into the grass at my side. I repeated the process a few times until I felt like I couldn't taste bile anymore, though my stomach was refusing to hold down even the smallest sip. I took my first good look at Flauvic and found him ripping strips off of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked to the right side of his face.

He faced me full on and I saw why he needed the bandages. I tried to jump to my feet, but my body failed to cooperate, spots danced behind my eyes and forced me to go slower. He had a deep cut on his face from the bridge of his nose to just in front of his left ear. It was bleeding badly, as only a head wound can do, and I was afraid that he would lose too much blood.

"Don't worry, Princess. That's the worst of it." I finally understood why his voice was so tense, as if every word was a chore: it hurt to even open his mouth.

"You idiot," I scolded unsteadily. "You should have ducked."

"I did duck," he answered. "The man was aiming for my throat."

I took him by the arm and lead him to where I had sat a minute ago. "Sit down and let me do that." I soaked one of the strips of his torn shirt and dunked it in the creek. I used that to clean his face off. "This is going to leave a nasty scar if we can't find a healer to put some stitches in it," I cautioned. After I had gotten it as clean as I could, I used the rest of the strips to bind up the cut, even ripping the cotton undershirt I had on under my leather riding jerkin to make more, keeping one to hastily bind up my hand. His bandage wasn't pretty work and almost covered up one of his eyes, but it would keep the wound clean until we reached Merindar again.

"I'm sorry," I rasped out, feeling the need to apologize. "That's the best I can do for now. I'm no healer, but.... If I had been here sooner..."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, pushing one of the bandages out of his eyes.

I ignored the question and adjusted the bandage out of his way myself.

"Elestra," he gently took my bound wrist and pulled it away from his face. "This wasn't your fault, you shouldn't apologize for it."

I shrugged and looked away, my throat getting thick. "If I had gotten here sooner you wouldn't have had to take on two by yourself. It was pure luck that the third one stayed mounted. Probably figured that he wasn't needed; two could easily take you on. Showed them, huh?" I tried to laugh, unsuccessfully.

He shook his head- gently- and put my fingers to his mouth, kissing the pads of my fingers. "No, you are not to blame for this, and I do not want your apology. I'm glad you were as quick as you were. If you had been any slower they would have gotten more of me than they did."

If I had been any slower, Flauvic might be dead now. The thought of him dead... was not a pleasant one. It made my stomach turn over and my chest hurt, I almost couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to throw up again and turned my head to the side, hot tears welling up at my embarrassment. When I had gotten my face and my stomach back under control and looked up, I found Flauvic's face was closer to mine than it was before and slowly inching closer. He carefully put his free hand to my chin and pressed his lips just to the corner of my mouth, feather light, despite the fact that I had just recently puked. Actually, that was probably why he'd gone to the corner instead of full-on.

"You constantly surprise me," he whispered, not bothering to take his mouth away when he spoke. "I don't think I'll ever understand you."

"Oh, I'm not all that complicated, really," I said, not breaking contact either; in fact, I found myself moving my lips more toward his. I was too busy floating in a mixed fog of exhaustion, guilt, nerves, and confusion to really consider the weight of what was going on; it all made me rather numb, so I just went with whatever seemed most natural. At that moment, kissing him back seemed as natural as breathing.

He let out a small breath and sat back, clearing his throat. "Your turn," he said, a bit more himself. "How are you?"

I held nodded to the hand he was still holding, indicating the bandage. "Just that," I said.

My bandage was even cruder than his was. I would never have a career as a healer, that was certain.

"I'll clean it and re-bandage for you," he told me.

"No, it's fine. I'll have someone see to it lat-" I started to pull my hand away, but he gripped it tighter.

"Now," he insisted. "I don't want it infected. Let me return the favor."

I sighed in capitulation and nodded. The blood had started to dry to the cloth already, so pulling it off was painful. The water hurt, but I was glad that we had no soap- I know, I'm a big baby. He was as gentle as possible, considering I wasn't being much help.

"...Ow..." I squeaked.

"Shh, almost finished. There." He tied the ends of a new strip of cloth. (Our shirts were mutilated.) Once again, he picked up my hand, this time giving a soft kiss to the bandage. "For luck in healing," he said. "Now, we have to get back to Merindar. Quickly."

"Stitches, I know," I said, standing with him.

"No," he murmured, his cut and the face wrapping making it hard to talk. "One of the messengers had a summons-stone. I'm guessing that he was given it in case of something like this happening. He got word to the Denlieff army before I could stop him. I hope the northern militia is still in good condition. We're going to need them."


	19. Arrival and Arrangements

PRE-A/N: Thanks, of course. I hope you get at least a few giggles from this chap. Maybe not a full out laugh, but definitely some giggles.

-Kingmaker: I figured that Elestra probably picked up the "Ready to ride" from when she used to go with her father when she was little. Seemed like the thing to say at the moment.

-Victoria27: Woops! You're right, I meant to say- er, type WROGHT iron, not ROT iron. Totally different words.

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CHAPTER 19- Arrival and Arrangements

I'm ashamed to say it, but I had Flauvic go back for my horse. I couldn't bear to see the dead men again. It was bad enough that we were just leaving them in the road like that. I promised myself that they would get a proper funeral and burning once this was all over. For now, we had to go get a rusty militia together to fight off trained warriors.

We took the road back to the main stretch of town, riding fast as we could without harming the horses. I was holding the reins tight with my left hand, trying to relieve some of the pain in my right. I couldn't imagine how painful this was for Flauvic.

We reached the Red-Wing Hawk Inn near sundown. The entire day had led us right back to where we had started it. Nearing the edges of town, Flauvic and I got quite a surprise. The residents were all rushing toward the center of town, gossiping and shaking their heads in wonder. We got a few odd looks for our ripped shirts, but we were widely ignored. Flauvic and I traded a look of bewilderment and dismounted, intending to take the horses back to the inn. We met the hostler as he was coming out of the barn.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The Royal army's here in Merindar for something," he explained, taking the horses and casting us a curios glance. "Can't imagine what it'd be for. There's been no trouble around here for ages."

I winced. I couldn't see Flauvic behind me, but if I guessed right, he was doing the same- only much more painfully.

"Is the army being led by F- erm! The king or the queen?" I asked, hoping wildly that it was Father. Please, please let it be Father.

"Her Majesty of the Hill Folk," the hostler answered proudly.

I heard violent, if muffled, cursing behind me. I wished I could join in; we did not need this now. The confused man squinted at us and sent one of the stable boys to get our horses. Bluewood and Ekirthi were brought out to us and we left the inn, promising that we would pay them as soon as we could. I gave them a voucher that bound me to the promise. They accepted it and let us go to meet our fate.

We fought our way through the crowd gathering to see the Queen and her warriors. It was easier for us with the big horses helping us to push our way through. Flauvic purposely fell behind a few times and I had to grab him by the arm once and pull him. "If I've got to face her, so do you."

"Yes, but she doesn't want to see you strung up on the nearest tree," he pointed out. I ignored the teasing he left himself wide open for, but with effort.

Mother was standing on the raised platform that was at the very center of every town talking with the steward of Merindar that Father had appointed years ago; a middle-aged man with a long, drooping mustache. It was one of her lieutenants dressed in Remalna's green and gold with a black band around her upper arm that spotted me and nudged Mama, pointing us out. I muttered "Traitor" under my breath. Mother's eyes glittered with fury when she saw us. I suddenly understood Flauvic's need to shrink back into the crowd, but swallowed the impulse. She opened her mouth to start shouting, but I cut her off.

"Before you start yelling, let me explain!"

"Not a chance Elestra Ranisia Nimiar Renselaeus--get yourself up here now!"

I cringed in annoyance. They never forgot to use the middle names. And in public, too. It was always a sure sign when you were in trouble. I went up on the platform, trying not to make a scene. Well, a bigger scene than it was already. I handed Bluewood's reins to one of the soldiers that I knew. She was trying not to laugh at me. I glared at her as I ascended the stairs.

"Don't think I don't see you down there," she called to Flauvic. "You get up here, too. I want explanations and I want them speedily."

"Can we do this somewhere inside?" I asked quietly. "We've been on the road for days, and we both need some real food, and he, especially, needs to see a healer and get some stitches for his face."

"Hah!" she snapped at him when he reached the top of the platform. "I'd ask what happened to your shirts, but you seem to be wearing most of them. Guess that pretty face of yours is ruined forever now, huh?"

"Mother," I scolded. "This is not helping, and we have an army to stop, so if we can get this whole thing straightened out as soon as possible so that we can get on to the real mission, that would be wonderful."

She blinked at me, the force of her grudge sliding back behind the real issue. "Did you say 'army'?"

"Yes, army," I nodded.

She let out a heavy sigh and turned to the steward. "Do you know a place we can get some food and draw up a battle plan?"

"The best place to have this discussion, Your Majesty, will be at the castle," the steward said. "You can stable the horses there and your troops can camp in the court yard and on the grounds."

Mother nodded and muttered, "I never thought I'd be doing this," before she turned back to us. "Come on, then."

We were shown into a parlor in the castle, every bit as old and historic as the one in Tlanth. Actually, I was drawing parallels between Merindar and Tlanth the entire time we were being ushered inside. Both had the feel of ongoing renovation after years of neglect. It made sense seeing as the steward hadn't been appointed until ten years ago, and before that the Merindar's themselves lived in Athanarel.

The parlor was done in summer green with leaves stenciled on the walls, a ceiling that was painted to look like sky, and several long rugs on the floor with patterns of leaves and flowers woven in. It was lovely and interesting. The steward, Lemuel, had refreshments brought in to the three of us, new shirts to put on, and a healer for Flauvic, although his identity was still a mystery to most.

"Yep, stitches," the man pronounced when he pulled back the bandages and inspected the wound. "Come with me. We'll get you a poultice to numb the spot and have you sewn up in a few."

Flauvic stood up to follow the man out.

"Good luck," I called after him. He glared back at me. I was glad to see that he was feeling more like himself.

"Elestra," Mother demanded my attention as I shrugged out of my dusty leather jerkin. "You have a lot of explaining to do. I suggest you get started."

I waited until I'd finished pulling the new shirt over my head, took a deep breath and then I gave a skeletal version of what I'd over heard going on between Rathimon and Flauvic that day on my ride. I reminded her about the notes I had written and she nodded.

"Yes, we got them," she acknowledged. "Did you have to write, 'Mother, if you're reading this, give it to Father and sit down'?"

I chuckled. "Yes, I did."

"Well, we took Rathimon in hand and he admitted to what his king and he had planned."

"But, you must have left right away to have gotten here so fast," I said. "It was just today that we caught up to the messengers and...I..." I couldn't bear to finish the sentence. I choked and shook my head. The shock was still too new. I closed my eyes and saw that man fall with my sword in his ribs. "Th-they're still l-lying in the ru-road back there. We have to s-s-send someone to...to..." My throat closed up and I could say no more.

She came over to where I sat and put her arms around me. "I know. It's hard when this happens, no matter what the cause. It's terrible, and you should never forget how bad you feel, or else you risk becoming a monster. It should matter when you take a life. It's when a person becomes cold to the act that they lose their humanity. I'll tell the steward to send someone to take care of the men. And, to answer your question, I did set out right after I heard the fool thing you did. I was hoping to catch up to the both of you and beat some sense into you, and just plain beat him."

I snorted a laugh and nodded, pulling away, taking deep breaths to help me get myself under control. I continued with the story, telling her that I had been as cautious of Flauvic turning on me as I could have been, but he was loyal as Father's general, Nessaren, had been in the last war. We had parted ways this morning and met up just as the fight started. I left out our stop at the cemetery and what I had just realized was a kiss as he had comforted me after the skirmish. No need for her to know about that. It was one of those spur of the moment things that would never be repeated brought on by too much stress. Like when little old ladies lifted carts off of their grandchildren in a moment of panic.

I finished by telling her about one of the couriers having a summons-stone and contacting the Denlieff army, which was probably preparing to attack as we spoke, if they hadn't started attacking already. She surprised me by saying that Father and Alaraec were taking care of that as we now.

"What?"

"When we got your letter, on the off chance that you were telling the uninfluenced truth, they called up the army, half went with me- as you can see- and half with them," she informed me. "Danric also sent a messenger ahead to warn the border counties and call up the militia. I hope this convinces them that regular practicing is necessary."

"Why is Alaraec with him? Who's presiding over Court?" I asked.

"We've kept things as quiet as possible, with the exception of Rathimon's absence," she told me. "Savona's keeping charge there until we get back. Your father thought that bringing Alec along will give him needed experience that will make sure he is respected when he takes the throne. Personally, I think your brother begged him and he was too busy to do anything but say yes."

I smiled. "So, what do we do now?"

"I told your father that we would meet up with him at his camp in Osrimar," she named a barony on the other side of the Hiedaki River, at the foot of the southern-most Denlieff mountain range.

"Wait; we as in you and me, or we as in _we_?" I asked, meaning Flauvic accompanying us.

"_He_ doesn't need to come."

"_He_ has proven himself, and if he wants to see this through, he deserves the chance to do so," I insisted.

Speaking of, Flauvic came in just as I finished my statement. Mother and I both looked up to see him, newly stitched and bandaged in a much better fashion than mine was, and clad in a whole shirt to replace the one we had decimated, enter the parlor. He hesitated just inside the tapestry with a grumpy expression on his face. The healer that had led him out followed him back in to give us a report.

"He'll be fine. The numbness should wear off in a bell-change or so. Until then," he addressed Flauvic, "I wouldn't try talking if I were you."

Mother got an evil smirk on her face. I elbowed her, silently telling her to be nice. She gave me a quick glare and crossed her arms petulantly. Flauvic nodded to the healer as he left and found a cushion to sit on as far away from Mother and me as he could be and still be in the room with us.

"Since you're here, I suppose you had better be filled in on what's going to happen," Mother sighed. "Elestra and I are going to meet up with Vidanric and the rest of the troops in Osrimar to take care of whoever is left of the Denlieff army. You have two choices: first, stay here and practice ordering people about instead of being ordered about yourself. I'm sure you're rusty by now. Or, second, you can come with us. I actually suggest the first, but it's your decision."

He looked over at me after Mother's lecture was through. I met his gaze and shrugged. "Your choice," I said. "I just thought you might want to see what you started through to the end. You can stay if you want. This is your home, and you haven't seen it in so long. Either way."

He was quiet for a long time. Then again, he wasn't supposed to talk, so that made sense. After a while, he shrugged and settled back to take a nap. Mother picked a grape and tested its heft. I could tell that she wanted to toss it at his head, so I took it from her fingers and popped it into my mouth.

"How about we leave tomorrow at dawn?" I asked her, loud enough that Flauvic could hear even though he didn't give any sign that he did.

"Good thought," she nodded. "Tomorrow at dawn. All those coming had better be there and ready to ride."

She called in Lemuel, the steward, and asked if we could have rooms for the night, we would be leaving early tomorrow. He said that there was plenty of room and showed the three of us to guest rooms. I kept looking back at Flauvic, watching him take in his home as if it were new. All of the changes and the years that had passed had made it all seem foreign to him. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, what had changed since he was a child. Instead, I went into my borrowed room and fell onto the bed, just managing to kick my shoes off and undo my hair, but not bothering to undress before I fell asleep.

* * *

POST-A/N: Before you even ask, of course they're going to kiss again! What kind of romantic adventure would this be if they didn't get some serious lip smakin' in?


	20. More Bad News

PRE-A/N: I'm getting the new chaps up as fast I think you can read and review. Don't be so antsy. And Flauvic and Elestra will fluff, just give them some time. Love doesn't happen just like that (snap).

Disclaimer: Yeah, you get the drill by now. Oh, and Pelasgus is a word I got from Edith Hamilton's Mythology, and he was a river god or something like that.

* * *

CHAPTER 20- More Bad News

A shower rolled through during the night, but dissipated long before dawn. The moon hadn't even set yet before bad news arrived. I was woken up by a servant who told me that my mother had called an emergency meeting in the parlor we had met in when we first arrived. I struggled out of my comfortable bed- have you noticed that every bed is the most comfortable place in the world when you are being forced to wake up?- and padded, bare foot, to the parlor. When I got there, Mother was holding a letter, pacing back and forth, and a wet, exhausted rider was standing at attention, looking worried.

"Mama?" I asked, my voice sleep-thick. "What's happened?"

She turned to find me in the doorway, dark circles under her eyes, her long, greying coronet of hair making her face look even more severe. "This rider has come with a letter from your father, informing me that the Denlieff army isn't going the route we expected. The strategists thought that they would go by Osrimar and attack the farthest place south that the border used to be, and then take the lands east and west from there, with their foothold secure. Instead, they're headed closer to Merindar, aiming, it would seem, for the capitol."

I closed my eyes and winced. "What's the new plan?"

"I don't know yet," she answered honestly. "Danric writes that he's moving his army as fast as he can, but they may not be here for a few days. I had someone time it and they think that Denlieff will be here in two days, maybe less with their head start and steady movement. We're going to have to face them with half an army and a rusty militia."

I shook my head, opening my eyes. My sight landed on the tired rider. Knowing the feeling, I signaled for him to be at ease. "Why don't you go get some food in you and find a bed for the night?"

Mother nodded, looking ashamed. "Yes, I'm sorry. Go. You're surely entitled to rest. Thank you for the speedy news."

"Your Majesty," he murmured and bowed to Mother. "Your Highness," he added a bow to me. I just waved, too tired myself for formality.

"Have you asked the steward--I assume he's up-- about any the local terrain?" I asked.

She shook her head and sniffed. "No. I haven't been awake much longer than you have, and I think I'm still pretty cloudy yet. I'll call for the steward. How about you see if you can get some coffee sent up to us?"

I nodded, needing the coffee as much as she apparently did. I went to the kitchens myself and found a maid had already started boiling water for just that purpose. I thanked her, and asked that she keep the drink coming as fast as she could, it was sure to be a long day ahead. On my way back up the stairs, I ran into Flauvic. He, too, had fallen asleep still dressed and now was up wondering what all the commotion was about. His speech was still a little off, both from the numbing poultice he had on his cheek, and the wound itself.

"The Denlieff army is headed this way, not to Osrimar. We're going to have to face them here, or near here, with half of the Remalnan army and the local militia," I summed up.

His eyebrows raised and he sighed heavily. "Have you any idea where this battle is going to oc-" he winced when he opened his mouth too wide for the "o" sound. "Going to happen?"

I shook my head no. "We're asking the steward now where the best place to hold it would be. We don't want people hurt unnecessarily. Of course, we don't want to ruin a crop field, either. It's going to be interesting to find a place that fits our needs."

He was quiet for so long that I started moving back down the hall to the parlor. He surprised me when he said that he was coming to this meeting, too. "It is my home," he explained, "and my lands. I am coming to this meeting to do my duty."

I had to smile at that. I smothered the urge to exclaim: You softy! I figured it would make him mad.

When we walked into the room together, Mother cast me an accusing glare and him an unwanted one as we moved to sit down. I chose a seat near her, just to help her wounded pride. He found a cushion near one of the walls and slid down to sit and watch.

We took until first gold running through the possible battle sites. None of them seemed to be the middle ground we were looking for. The only flat places were farmed fields, and the only barren places were rocky and not suited to combat. We weren't getting anywhere. We lapsed into silence for some minutes.

"I wish we could trap 'em somewhere so they couldn't get to us," I heard one of the servants, a girl of about thirteen, whisper to someone else in the back.

I thought about that. I was wishing the same thing, but I probably wasn't allowed to say as much out loud. A loud snap came from across the room. We all looked over at Flauvic to see him sitting up straighter than he had any right to, as tired as I knew he had to be.

"Isn't there a...a valley, or canyon, or something near the edge of White Flower?" he asked.

"There's Pelasgus Canyon, where the old river dried up," Lemual said. "It's pretty well covered over with brush. You can't see it until you're falling in. Not many outside of Merindar know about it. _I _certainly didn't know about it until I came here, myself. Did you once live near here?"

"Something like that," Flauvic mumbled. "I was just thinking, what if we could trap them in the canyon? It would be the perfect place for a battle. No one else knows that it's there, so it won't be on the maps that the Denlieffi commanders have. It would be easy to lure the army into the canyon, then drop boulders on them from the rim. That will cut the size of the op- the army down so that our side will have a chance at actual combat. It also narrows down their escape route. If we block them into the canyon from both sides, they won't have any."

As he plotted- woops!- _planned,_ the other advisers started nodding. They agreed that it was a good plan; they were glad that someone had thought of it; and why hadn't they? Mother sulked and brooded for several minutes, but finally admitted what the rest of us knew already.

"I suppose it could work," she said grudgingly. Unfortunately, she had an attack of pride and vindictiveness that accompanied her statement, although it had a basis in good intention... I think. "Why don't you use that wonderful gift of yours to help us for once? I might not mind seeing a canyon full of stone people if it means lives saved."

I whacked her knee to get her to shush. It was a mixed compliment, at best, a dead give-away of Flauvic's identity either way, or a terrible insult at worst. Flauvic, of course, chose to take it as the last.

"Even if it didn't take weeks to plan that little work of genius, not to mention my unfortunate lack of tools I'd need to do it, I can't," he growled, not moving his mouth more than absolutely necessary.

"What do you mean, 'you can't?'" I asked, his statement perking my interest. "You are admittedly one of the most powerful mages in Remalnan history. You can't possibly...'can't.'"

The expression on his face said that he didn't quite know how to take that. On the one hand, I had just called him one of the greatest mages' in history-- as if he didn't already know. On the other hand, he was hiding something. The rest of the room was waiting in quite expectation, shock, and near disbelief that this man was who he was, alive, non-arboreal, and in the castle.

"I just... can't," he pleaded with me not to ask more.

But I had to.

"Why can't you?" I pressed

He expelled an annoyed breath and glared at me. I didn't back down and eventually he explained.

"Because they took it, nearly all of it, everything big, I can't do magic like that anymore," he said in one long rush.

"They?" Mother asked. "The Hill Folk? They don't do things like that."

"Well, excuse me, my lady expert," Flauvic scoffed. "And how often have you heard of them turning people into trees, hm?"

She looked sheepish, for once. "Only you," she admitted.

No one said a word for long seconds before I realized something from the night that he had un-become a tree, I guessed was how you'd say it.

"Wait. You made us invisible that night in Athanarel when you used me as a hostage," I pointed out. "The guards were looking right at us, but they didn't see us. If you can't do big magic, then how did you do that? Seemed pretty big to me. Even Mother can't make people turn invisible."

Again, he looked like he had swallowed a bug.

"I only camouflaged us, Princess," he confessed. "They were looking for thieves, or attacking armies, not their royalty and someone who they'd never seen and thought was still a goldenwood on the dais in the Throne Room. Since they weren't looking for us, they didn't see us: camouflage. At the time, I was just saving energy. I didn't know that that was about as far as my powers went anymore."

"When did you find out?" I asked.

"Not until I was in Sartor," he sighed.

"How do we know if you're telling the truth?" Mother asked suspiciously.

Flauvic practically threw his hands up in defeat; I had to defend him.

"He's telling the truth, Mother," I said.

"You have too much faith in him, Elly," she insisted.

"Well, I have to. Nobody else seems to have any," I asserted.

That earned me quite a few strange looks from everyone in the room, including my defendant. I shrugged and reached for the kettle of coffee to pour myself another cup.


	21. Another Dawn

PRE-A/N: Yes, another double. I know, it's nuts.

CHAPTER 21- Another Dawn 

All that day our team planned and made strategies to get the Denlieff army into the canyon so that our side could trap them, while periodically, riders came in to tell us that the army was still headed this way, but taking its time. I put a hand on the occasional anxious, discouraged shoulder and tried to keep spirits up. I hoped our- well, Flauvic's plan would work, because once one fief was taken, the rest would lose hope and fall quickly; it had happened that way in the last war.

I tried to offer the occasional suggestion, but the most helpful ones came from the town leaders who knew the area, and Mother's commanding officers who had battle training. I spent my time mostly fetching maps and telling the kitchen to have lunch and more coffee brought to what had recently become the war room. As I watched the committee that was brought together of town leaders, high ranking officers, and a few of the castile staff, as well as Flauvic, me, and Mother, I found that everyone was pulling together quite nicely.

"We can't be so cold hearted as to drop boulders on them," insisted one of the town's headmen.

"Well, we can't go against the covenant and use arrows," Lemuel the steward said. "But we have to cut down the size of their army, or our limited forces are going to be nothing to them. Dropping boulders may not be pretty, but it will cut down the number of our opponent."

"Please tell me that someone has rounded up the militia and is giving them a refresher drill?" Flauvic said.

"As we speak, the Queen's men and women are training the townspeople, surrounding farmers and people from the nearby villages," Allzey, the lieutenant who had pointed me out the day before in the town square, assured him.

"What about the people who'll lead the army into the canyon?" I asked. "We need enough to make it look like at least a whole wing of infantry and a few cavalrymen. If we can't make it believable then the Denlieff officers won't fall for the trap and the man and women who are chosen will be slaughtered."

"It should be a volunteer-only assignment for the militia," Allzey said.

"Absolutely," Lemuel agreed. "No one with only small children should be allowed to enlist for that mission."

It was agreed. The officers went to recruit volunteers for the mission. Those spots that weren't filled my militia would be taken from the army proper, hopefully still leaving enough to take up a rear attack once the army was trapped in the canyon. When the officers came back they had more than enough qualified men and women to fill all of the spots on the bait-army, as they had come to call themselves. Those who were chosen off of the list that was brought back were separated from the other trainees and shown what they would be doing to make it believable to the Denlieffi that they were Crown fighters.

That night, we had to get some sleep. I had fallen asleep twice listening to the war committee talk, and I think I saw Flauvic doze off a few times, too. Mother faired better, only drifting off once, but she had had a bit more rest on her journey than we had gotten on ours. I found my bed and had just enough coffee-fueled energy left to take off my used riding gear and change into a borrowed night dress. I needed a bath, but I knew I would have fallen to sleep and slipped under the water in moments, so I put it off until morning. We had but one day left before the Denlieff army would be at Merindar. Mother wanted our people in place before third green-chance, just in case the army got here sooner than planned.

The next morning I woke early and found that it was grey and misty outside. The relative cold had crept into the castle during the night and I wasn't quite looking forward to a cold bath. I doubted that there would be warm water for me, so I decided to take my chances. I pulled on my leather jerkin for warmth and went into the hallway, luckily finding a female servant who was headed my way. She looked as pale and anxious as the rest of us undoubtedly did. I asked her where the baths were and she told me to go down the stairs at the end of the hall to the bottom. Merindar was apparently very lucky to have been built on hot springs. I needn't worry about cold water, after all. I smiled in relief and thanked her.

I didn't have a bath towel or robe with me, so I troubled her further by asking if she could send some towels down to me. She was happy to, in that way that only servants who have to do what they're told are happy. However, I was hopeful that she actually liked me, so I was going to get something that was more respectable than a dish cloth to dry myself off with. I didn't have another change of clothes with me, which meant that I was going to have to change back into my riding gear right away. I went back to my room and got my new, borrowed shirt, underwear, riding pants, and boots. I carried them with me to the baths and was glad to find that the farther down the stairs I went the warmer it got as a result of the springs.

I was glad to see that I was alone. I quickly stripped off the jerkin and night dress and stepped into the hot spring nearest me. I sunk down so that the water came up to my chin. It was uncomfortable at first, and the sulfur smell was kind of off-putting, but the relaxation that came soon after was worth it. I don't know how long I sat in the spring, the warm water seeping into every abused pore and easing my tense muscles. My only thought during that whole time was: I could get used to this. I heard someone come down the stairs once, and turned to see the maid bring me a large, warm-looking towel in deep grey, a Merindar color. She smiled when she saw my sleepy, languid expression and left the towel within easy reach for whenever I decided to get out.

I knew I had to get out eventually. I couldn't possibly stay in the hot spring forever. I had a battle to help with. There were people counting on me. I had to get out, I really did. When? That was the question. I stayed idling in the water until I heard the bell-change for third gold echoing down the stairs to the baths and knew that I had to leave the nice warm water now. I had stayed in for much longer than I thought I did. I ducked my head under one last time, then climbed out of the spring, pulling on my towel to cover me incase someone happened to come down the stairs.

I looked around and found a small changing room off to the side of the pools, cut into the rock that formed the base of Merindar castle. I took my stuff in there to change, taking time to dry off as well as I could so that my clothes wouldn't get damp. I smelled like the sulfur in the water, but I felt better. I was half way into my pants and wishing for the lotions and oils in the baths at Athanarel when I spotted some jars and vials on a stone shelf in the room. I hoped no one would mind, but I did want to get the rotten egg smell off before I went back upstairs. The first jar smelled like lavender, and herb to put you to sleep, not wake you up, and I needed to be awake. The next was listerblossom flower, sweet and sharp; perfect. I rubbed the lotion into my arms and legs sparingly, not wanting to use too much of what didn't belong to me. Next, I lifted the stoppers on the glass vials to smell what was in each. This time I chose one that smelled like apples, a nice compliment to the listerblossom. I poured a little into my hands and worked it through my hair to get out the smell of the hot spring. It worked like a charm, and I wondered if there wasn't actually a charm on it to cancel out any other odors where the oil was applied.

I stepped back into my clothing, wishing that it had gotten washed, too, and used the towel to dry my hair as I climbed the stairs. I decided to tell the maid who had pointed out the baths to me that I had used someone's toiletries, just in case I offended someone. First, I had to find her. I was halfway down the hall when I passed an alcove to find Flauvic standing, watching out the window it housed. For a moment I simply watched him against the backdrop of the water-streaked glass.

"What are you doing?" I asked after a slight pause.

He turned around to look at me, disinterested, apparently, with whatever was happening outside the window. He shrugged, elegantly, the effect both lost because of his informal clothing, and heightened because we were in his home where, if not at the moment, he was lord. He took in how I looked, me still trying to rub my hair dry and the water I hadn't caught making the shirt cling oddly, and not at all in any of the right places. I blushed, wondering why I cared; it wasn't as if _he_ did.

"Down at the hot springs?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Did you know, if you go out to the middle, you can't touch the bottom?" he said, more the Flauvic I had known on this trip than the courtier he was a second ago.

I laughed out loud, shaking my head. I had had no such experience. "Flauvic, the last time you were in those springs you were nine years old. I think you could probably touch the bottom by now. You're much taller."

He smiled slightly and looked away, back out the glass. I went to stand behind him and looked out over his shoulder, trying to see what he saw. This window overlooked a court yard where the troops were bunking down. There was nothing too amazing going on, so I looked for something else that was stealing his attention. The only thing I could tell that was different from when I had woken up this morning was that the mist that had been hanging around had finally turned into a spring shower that was likely to last the whole day, by the look of that sky.

"Well, at least it's raining," I smiled. "That's a good sign."

He tilted his chin to look over at me, his eyebrow raised, not following. I gave him a mock-offended face before explaining. "Remember, nothing bad can happen around you in the rain anymore. The curse is broken; I proclaimed it." He tried to smile, but stopped when the stitches started pulling. "Besides," I continued, "the Denlieff army is either going to bunk down for the day, or be moving a lot slower, so that buys us some time to get things ready."

"You always have such good foresight," he said, although it didn't sound much like a compliment the way he said it.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

He opened his mouth to answer me, but was cut off the sound of the trumpets sounding the approach of a rider. I assumed that it was another rider to give us news of the approaching army, but I was witness to two men on horseback riding through the gate and into the courtyard and dismounting. I didn't recognize them at first; not until one of them turned to face the castle. Then I knew the two crowns of pale hair, the broad shoulders, and the nearly identical black riding cloaks. I grinned and started running down the hall. It seemed like ages since I had seen them.

"Where are you going?" Flauvic asked.

"Down to see my father and brother!" I called back.

I raced to the great doors at the front of the castle just as they were walking in. Mother was already there, giving Father a kiss and berating him for not telling her he was coming. The servants were taking their cloaks and hats that had kept them safe from the downpour. I nearly skidded when I rounded a corner to hug them both.

"Papa!" I jumped into his arms first, like I had when I was a child. He had to let Mother go to steady both of our balances.

"Oof! Hello, Elestra," he said, a repressed grin in his voice. "How was your adventure?"

I let him go, embarrassed, and a sudden memory of the man I had killed floating though my mind. I tried to shake it away and managed to answer with a small smile, "I would have rather it had ended sooner, because it's not over yet."

"Too true," he sighed.

"What? No welcome for me? Too cruel, Elly. See if I ever do anything nice for you again," Alaraec teased.

I swatted his shoulder and hugged him, too. "What have you done nice for me lately?" I said.

He chuckled and released me. "Well, I haven't beaten you for running off, yet, so I'd count that as nice."

"I left a note," I insisted.

"The less said about that, the better," Mother rolled her eyes. "Now, why, exactly are you here? Not that I'm not thrilled to see you both, but...?"

"We weren't about to let you two have all the fun," Father smiled softly. "We rode ahead of the army to get here as soon as possible, and told my commanders to keep pace and catch up as quickly as possible."

"Lovely," Mother said. "Come on into the parlor we're using as a war room. You can get a steady steam of coffee, and I can fill you in on the plan we've concocted-"

"Flauvic," I cut in.

All eyes turned to me in question, and some annoyance.

"What?" Father asked.

"She said 'we' concocted it. 'We' didn't, he did," I clarified.

Father nodded carelessly, although I could tell he was less than pleased at his second cousin's involvement in general.

"At least someone gives me credit," Flauvic's slightly slurred voice carried over to us. We found him leaning, lounging, against the archway of the entrance to the antechamber we all stood in. He seemed at ease, but I thought I knew him well enough to guess that what he was really feeling was anything but. Probably nervous, angry-- always angry-- and unappreciated. That, however, was no reason for him to be mean.

I took a little breath, let it out, and tried to stop trouble before it started. I cut Mother off when she was about to say something scathing, and started walking toward Flauvic. As I neared the arch, I watched him watch me. He got a guarded look in his eyes and straightened so that he was standing away from the wall, bracing for battle. I think he knew I was about to do something, so put on my most charming smile as I stepped in front of him. That only seemed to make him warier. I raised my hand to the side of his head, and flicked his earlobe as hard as I could.

"Ow!" He batted my hand away and clutched his abused ear all in one movement.

"If they can't be rude, neither can you," I told him firmly. I heard my mother's laughter behind me, as well as what I guessed were the sounds of my two male relations trying not to laugh out loud. I swiveled to glare at them. "Come, now. I'm trying to get us through the next few days without anyone suffering wounds from the friendly side-- such that it is. Can you all just try to work with me?"

Father swallowed his laughter, but the corners of his eyes were still crinkled with humor. "Of course, Elestra. It is very rude of us to laugh," he took Mother's arm. "My apologies, cousin. Come on, Mel: show me to the rest of our team."

He led her away, Alaraec following, sending me an "I'll-tease-you-about-this-later" look. I stuck my tongue out at him, only making him grin wider. He even sent Flauvic a little salute before turning away.

I sighed and faced Flauvic. Just as I'd suspected, he was glaring ponyards at me.

"You are an unbelievable child," he said, forcing the words through clenched teeth, making each one sound like a sentence of its own.

I shrugged. "There was no point in you picking a fight with them," I told him. "I don't want to have to divert two wars at once. One at a time is more than enough."

I stepped away to follow my family back to the parlor. I was fully awake, and the day had started. Good for me.


	22. On to the Battle

PRE-A/N: Hey, all! This is just some blatant plugging. For those of you who read Interception, I have another, sorta-similar-but-not-really story up that features mainly Danric. For those of you who didn't read it, go do that. It's funny. Ask anybody else who read it, you'll laugh you ass off. Then go read the new one. This one's not supposed to be funny.

-nebula: Well, just because Mel's the Queen, doesn't mean she's all grown up yet. (grin) And isn't that just what she'd do?

I also need to make a correction. In chapter 20 there was a line that went "The rest of the room was waiting in quite expectation..." That was supposed to say "quiet," not "quite." And, for this chapter, I made up a word: "mandolineer," which now means "someone who plays the mandolin." Obviously. My computer refused to recognize this.

* * *

CHAPTER 22- On to the Battle

The rest of the day was spent filling in my father and brother on the plan of attack. They were both impressed, and I think Father was about to compliment Flauvic at one point, but remembered that they didn't like each other, so he refrained. I tried to keep the nit-picking and squabbling to a minimum, and, strangely enough, Alaraec helped. I had no clue what to make of that, so I just let it go and counted it lucky for me.

The plan was to have our people all in place by third-green change, and so we needed to get them moving as soon as possible. At first green, we went out to give a last bit of instruction. Father led the bait-army to the plain where the Denlieffi army would pass on their way to Merindar. From there they would lead them to the canyon. Mother led the rear forces that were to trap the army in the canyon from the back. Alaraec was in charge of the militia on the far side of the canyon wall, and Lt. Allzey had charge of the near side- the side that I was on.

By second green we were on our way to our positions. It was still pouring down rain outside, so it was a wet ride. I wished I'd had the foresight to grab my water-proof cloak. (What's that Flauvic said about my always looking ahead?) Instead, I was just as soggy as the rest of the infantry. And the cavalry, come to think of it. And pretty much everyone else. Good to know that the Remalnan royal family keeps to its humble roots of barefoot-in-Tlanth, I thought to myself with a smirk.

We were nowhere near a bell tower, so we had to assume that the bell for third green had rung. Everyone was in place, and we were told to sit tight until morning, or until we heard the sound of an approaching battle. If we'd miscalculated, we would be back in Merindar in a few days to meet our executioners. That was a lovely way to part, but I think Mother was trying to make a joke.

Allzey had us pitch tents near the edge of the canyon. We were pleasantly surprised to find a pile of Fire Sticks where we were going to camp. I looked toward the surrounding forest and smiled, glad that the Hill Folk were looking out for us. In another bell the two sides of the canyon were filled with green, rain-proof canvas tents that blended into the shrubbery surrounding the rim. Small fires were made with the Fire Sticks, and we all settled in to wait for the oncoming battle.

I tried to sleep, but my stomach kept betraying how nervous I was. Someone outside had struck up a mandolin and another joined in with a tin flute. I sat up in my tent and listened to the cheerful music play. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was suffering from nerves. At the pause between one song and another, I heard clapping from many hands. The musicians had gathered an audience in the rain. I smiled and went to join in the fun.

I lifted the flap of my tent and saw the players, huddled inside their canvas shelters with only their door-flaps open to let the music out, and the audience, some sitting around the Fire Sticks with blankets, others inside their tents as well, all focused on the music coming from across our little circle. I heard one man- I hadn't learned his name- ask for a song after the second ended. The mandolineer chuckled and began the strains of the old song. I'd never heard it before, but it reminded me of the songs that played at the towns near Renseleaus palace when we would visit in the summers when I was younger. I smiled at the thought and started clapping out a beat in the place of a drum. I soon got the rest of our little group into the beat, and we went through song after song giving our part to the music.

Dusk fell without any trumpets sounding the approach of the enemy, but that didn't put me at any ease. I curled up in my tent, my borrowed cloak making a soggy blanket and tried to get some sleep. I tossed and turned most of the night. My dreams brought me nightmares of the men on the road that we had killed rising up and chasing me. I couldn't run fast enough to get away, but they never caught me, just kept at my heels until I woke panting and sobbing, wishing that I were anywhere but there, doing anything but causing more harm and death. Nothing I could say could make me feel any better about the activities the day was sure to bring.

The sun rose over the mouth of the canyon, a beautiful sight if it wasn't blood red. Bad omen, that. We all crawled out of our tents and took our places on the lip of the canyon, prying loose large boulders just enough so that they would give easily when we shoved them over, and making an explosive that would glow blindingly bright to distract the army when lit and thrown. After that, all there was to do was wait. I couldn't eat a thing all day, even when my stomach started growling for food. I sat in my tent and tried to think of something to keep my mind off of what was about to happen. Nothing came and I wished that someone was there to talk to me, hold me, tell me everything was going to be alright, like when I was a child. I would have settled for pretty much anybody at that point.

What I ended up doing was comforting other people with the same fears as I had. One young man who wasn't much older than I was talked about how he'd never killed anyone before, but he didn't want the Denlieffis- dirty Denlieffs, he called them- to come into his home and take over, either. I agreed with him, and told him and the others I was waiting with about what had happened on the road. I told them that I'd had nightmares about it, but I still felt that this was the only way, now. We had all gone too far to turn back, and it didn't look like the Denlieff army was going to give us much choice of a peaceful negotiation. Another man, older than Father, told us that he was in the last war, and how he sometimes still had nightmares about the first men he'd killed.

"It does get easier," he mused. "Not sure if that's a good thing or not...but it does get easier."

He gave us all something to think about.

It was before first green-change that day (Allzey was keeping tabs on what time it was) that the first sounds of battle drifted toward us. For a moment, everyone froze, listening. Then the shouts from the commanders started, ordering everyone to get ready, but stay down.

"They might be too busy to look up, but we don't want to take the off chance that someone might and blow our cover before the King can get them inside the canyon," Allzey told us.

Everyone made signs against evil and said quick blessings to fate. We took positions behind the boulders and scrub trees, sometimes sending little showers of pebbles down to the dry canyon floor. I hoped that none of the big rocks fell until they were pushed down on the army- life, was that a morbid thought!

The sound of the battle drew closer with every moment. I could already hear the sound of steel against steel, horses' hooves, and shouts from both sides. The Denlieff army was being led flawlessly into the mouth of the canyon when I dared a quick look from behind my boulder. Flauvic's plan was working smoothly so far. At that, where was Flauvic? I hadn't seen him since the meeting in the parlor at Merindar Castile. Where had he been stationed? It must have been on the other side of the canyon with Alaraec, since Alec was the only other person in my family who could stand him, and they certainly didn't want him too near me.

With that last thought, the bait-army pulled out of the line of our projectiles, and the Denlieff army was right underneath us.

"NOW!!" echoed from both sides of the canyon.

We took out the holds that were put under the rocks to keep them in place and pushed, sometimes using levers to get the boulders moving. I drowned out the sound of screaming from below and moved on to the flash-makers, lighting the fuse and throwing, pausing to see the first one spark and flair to life like a small sun. The job of the troops on the rim was done in moments, and we were given time to watch as Mother's bit of the army and militia came up behind the Denlieffis and blocked the escape route.

I watched as what remained of the opposing army tried to get out, attempting to hack their way trough the Remalnan forces. I could make out my mother from where I stood. She led her group with excited ease born of practice. She was on horseback, hair up in a braided crown, her custom made mail armor glinting in the sun that felt as if it lay just above my head, pressing forward and blocking swinging swords from the attackers. One group of warriors managed to break through the first line of Remalnan soldiers, surging into the ranks and making for freedom. I turned away as the soldiers on our side took out their long spears to stop them.

My eyes found Father first. His forces had already secured the surrender of two Denlieff wings. A third wing near my side of the canyon was giving the militia more problems. I watched three riders get pulled off horseback and our infantry rushed to try and save them. One rider caught my attention when his helm fell off to reveal ruddy-gold hair, about shoulder length, matted with sweat, and a slowly scarring face I knew well.

"Flauvic!"

I rushed to the very edge of the canyon. I wasn't going to jump, really, but I might have fallen if someone- a few someones- hadn't caught me.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Flauvic wasn't supposed to be down there. He wasn't supposed to be in the bait-group. He was not supposed to be in armor, not supposed to be fighting off the Denliffi soldiers. His form was swallowed by the foot soldiers of both sides. I fought against the arms holding me trying to get to him. I think I was screaming, but I couldn't tell, everything was happening so fast.

The Remalnan soldiers had forced the Denlieffi back and into submission. One by one, all the wings surrendered, dropping their swords and putting their hands in the air. I stopped struggling and sank to my knees, searching the battlefield for Flauvic. Everyone below was milling about and I couldn't see anything for certain. I got back to my feet and tried to look for a way down the walls of the canyon, down to the dry river bed, and find him, but once again, I was caught. I fought.

"Come now, Princess Elestra," I heard. "You can't go down yet; they're just getting the field under control and they can't have you in the way."

"But I have to-" I tried to explain. "He's hurt! He's down there, and I have to find him--"

"Take her back to camp," Allzey commanded the woman who was clutching my shoulders, keeping me from breaking my neck. "Keep her calm. I'm afraid the battle might have been too much for her."

I felt hands pulling me, but I kept straining forward. They pulled, and I pulled against them. I fought them the entire way, trying to explain that I couldn't be there, I needed to go find Flauvic. What if he was dead? What if I'd never see him again? What if he was hurt? I was frantic with worry, so afraid that if I didn't get to him now he was going to die... or that he was already dead. And I hadn't been there to help him. I hadn't been there to save him like before. This time, I just wasn't fast enough.

* * *

POST-A/N: Yes, I'm leaving you in suspense until next chapter.


	23. Gone

CHAPTER 23- Ache 

I woke in a fog, which tends to be the state of mind one finds themself in after being drugged to sleep. I remembered the other militiamen and women pulling me back to my tent. I cried all the while, and kept crying, nearly hysterical, until someone had forced me to drink tea laced with thanto root. It was a heavy seditive. It left a bitter, acrid taste on the back of my tongue.

From outside, I could hear the sound of the troops moving around outside, shouting, moving things. It all made my head pound more than it already was. I rolled off of my blanket and peeked out the tent flap. The dust that was being kicked up immediately stung my eyes and I recoiled back inside. Everything was hazy and I couldn't remember why I was here and not in my bed back at Athanarel.

In one sickening rush the last few days came back to me. Overhearing the plot to take land in Remalna. Flauvic and I riding to stop the messengers from ordering the attack. Me killing that man. Flauvic more than likely being dead. I sank forward and choked back a sob that was tearing at my throat. I couldn't cry. Not here, not now. I had to go find out what had happened to Flauvic.

I walked out of the tent and into a steady drizzle. I searched through the milling people to find Lieutenant Allzey. I found her talking with one of the captains and waited until they were done speaking. She turned to look at me sympathetically.

"You gave us quite a scare yesterday, Your Highness," she said.

I winced. I had been asleep for a whole day. I croaked the first time I tried to talk and had to clear my throat and try again before any sound came out. "What's happened? How many did we lose?"

She smiled wanly. "Out of both army and militia we only lost about twenty soldiers per wing…one hundred twenty in all out of a force of twelve hundred. Not a bad statistic for a small war."

"A one day war," I mused groggily. "How many lives would have been lost if we hadn't been able to stop the Denlieffi in one battle?"

"Too many," Allzey murmured. "It was luck, and a hero's mission on your part, that saved us from a second war like the last one."

"I wasn't alone..." I said, fading off into nothing. I tried to shake the feeling of desperation that was coming over me again. "What's being done with the… the b-… the ones in the canyon?"

"The Denlieff army is taking back its' dead to be buried at home," the lieutenant said. "I don't understand the practice of burying the dead, but to each their own customs. Our dead are being brought out of the canyon in blankets and on planks of wood. A messenger has been sent back to town to inform those who have lost loved ones that the funeral fires will be held here, at the canyon, at dusk. The wounded are also being sent back to town. The castle's being used as a hospital."

"I think my strength will be better used at the castle caring for the wounded, instead of here," I said. "If it doesn't count as desertion, Lieutenant, may I go back to help?"

I couldn't bear the thought of seeing Flauvic carried up from the canyon. I would be at the funeral pyre tonight, because if I wasn't, he would go completely unmourned. His name was going to be added to his family's wall today. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to it on our ride here. Maybe it was a sign.

"Of course, Your Highness," she nodded. "I'll have a horse ordered for you, and someone to accompany you into town."

"No," I said. "No, I think I would rather go alone. I need the time and space to myself. I'll take down my tent, and then just leave. I need to be away from here for a while. Apologize to their Majesties for me if they come to look for me."

"Yes, Your Highness," she said, thinking that she understood. Poor little princess can't stand the sight of death. That may have been partly true, but it was one death in particular that I was having trouble dealing with.

I disassembled my tent in moments, handing it off to one of the supply wagons to take back to the castle later. I found the hostler in charge of the army's horses and borrowed a chestnut bay to ride back. Every movement I made felt as if I were trying to move through tar. It hurt to breathe. Each one took so much energy when all I wanted to do was crawl into my own bed and let loose the tears. I wanted to sleep the rest of the year away, at least. Maybe longer.

Once on the rode I felt safe letting go of the tears this far from prying eyes. The weather was cooperating with my bleak mood. The ride back was overshadowed by the clouds rolling in from the south. A summer down pour was about to begin. I didn't even notice that it had started raining until I was nearly soaked through. The cold rain cooled my face off, but the tears still trailed hot down my cheeks.

After what seemed like an eternity of aimless riding, letting the horse keep to the road, I arrived back at Merindar Castle. It was busy with Healers and volunteers helping the injured soldiers. There were so many who needed help. Just seeing the state that they were in helped me get control of myself. My job wasn't finished yet. I was here to help care for these people.

I found the Healer we had met eons ago who'd sewn up Flauvic's face. He was in charge of organization of the others and of the wounded. I told him that I was here to help, and at his disposal. He was grateful for the assistance.

"It's wonderful to see such a show of support from local volunteers," he smiled sadly. "Why don't you go on inside and help the ones most injured that are waiting for the Healers to come in and fix 'em up? Just clean up the surface wounds and hold some hands to keep them calm. You already have experience with that, huh?"

My throat closed up and I couldn't speak, so I simply nodded and headed for the main doors. When I entered I found one of the servants inside running a basket of bandages to the guest wing where many of the injured soldiers were being kept while they waited for a Healer's attention.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "I was told to make myself useful in here. Can you tell me where I'm supposed to go?"

"Of course," he told me. "The ones waiting to see the Healers are being kept in the Guest Wing, so you should probably start there. Take some bandages and go to. Do you know how to get there?"

I nodded and picked out a few rolls of clean linen strips. At the arch that separated the Guest Wing where I had slept a few nights ago and the main stair leading to the parlors and dining room the servant and I split up. It strange that I'd already managed to memorize many of the hallways and corridors in the castle during my runs as the rest of the leaders had been planning. I walked dazedly down one of the halls looking for a room where I'd be needed and found myself at the alcove where I had seen Flauvic standing…only two days ago. I stopped there, resting my forehead against the cool window and tried not to think.

A tear dripped down my face. I didn't want to cry again; there was no use in it. What was done was done, and it couldn't be changed. At the sound of foot steps behind me I straightened up, brushing away the tears and sniffing through my stuffed nose. I took a breath and turned to face whoever was coming down the hall. Hopefully it was someone who could tell me which room I should go to so that I could stop procrastinating and start helping.

My heart stopped cold when the source of the footsteps came into view.

Flauvic had a bruise over his swollen right eye, a scrape on his forehead. His lip was split and scabbed over, and his left arm was in a sling. All of this on top of the gash he'd received from the courier. His cloths were stained by dirt and blood. He looked drawn and tired. And I had never seen a sight so sweet in my life.

The moment he recognized me he let out a long breath and his shoulders relaxed. My heart chose that moment to start back up at a galloping pace. I propelled myself the few steps toward him and flung my arms around his neck, burying my face into the bend of his neck, and accidentally crushed his injured arm between us.

"Ow! Careful-"

"Hush!" I shouted, pulling back just enough that I could start covering his face in little kisses. His stitches had torn a little, so I tried mending his skin with my lips. His eye was the colors of a sunset, and I hoped that I wasn't causing more pain when I kissed his eyelids. His jaw was scratchy and it occurred to me that he hadn't seen a razor in nearly a week now, but I didn't care.

"How could you?" I asked between kisses. "How could you do something so stupid and reckless and completely senseless? You scared me to death when I saw you down there! I ought to kill you myself!"

Some time during my tirade, Flauvic started laughing. Not loud or hard, but it was still rather insulting when I had been so worried.

"What is so funny?" I asked.

He didn't answer, just brought his good hand up to the back of my head and pulled me in for a real kiss, his smiling mouth on mine. He tasted like sweat and dust and something that was Flauvic and only Flauvic. When my tongue brushed the split in his bottom lip, the metallic tang of blood was added to the mix, but soon the feel of his tongue tangling with mine blocked out any other sensation or thought.

This kiss was so much better than the last one. Our first kiss had been when both of us were still in such a daze that it hadn't seemed quite real. This was much more intense and greedy. Neither of us was letting go until we'd gotten our fill. My fingers wrapped themselves into his hair, flexing and curling to massage his scalp. Flauvic's hand moved to the small of my back and locked me in place. He grunted in pain when I shifted against him, jostling his arm.

"Sorry, sorry," I murmured against his mouth, never breaking contact. Life, how I wanted to keep him like this forever.

Someone behind us cleared her throat, startling us and bringing us back to reality. I twisted my head and found a woman in a Healer's robe looking above our heads and covering a smile. I blushed, finally realizing where I was and how this must look to others. I pulled away from Flauvic and stepped back, clearing my own throat and getting my expression under some sort of control. Flauvic leaned his shoulders back against the stone wall, a little smirk playing on his lips, a complete contrast with the rest of his appearance.

"I understand that the Princess is here to help with the wounded from battle?" the Healer said.

"Yes," I said. "I was just, um, looking for…"

I couldn't finish the sentence to save my life, I was so embarrassed about having been caught kissing a man in the middle of the hallway. I was raised a good girl. Good girls didn't do things like that. The fact that it was Flauvic wasn't even an issue.

"They're bringing up more in a moment," she informed me. She bent down and picked something up off the floor. I realized that it was the roll of bandages I hadn't even noticed I'd dropped until now. "You may want to run these to the servants in charge of sterilizing the bandages down in the kitchen and pick up a new roll before you head into any of the rooms."

I nodded my head and reached out to take the sullied bandages. The Healer smiled at both of us as she handed the linen strips to me and continued on her way down the hall. As soon as we were to her back, I covered my face with my hands and let myself laugh at what had just happened.

"That may have been the most embarrassing moment of my life," I giggled.

"Well, you certainly are a master at flattery, Elestra," Flauvic drawled.

I shook my head and took my hands away from my face. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Neither of us said anything for a long moment that made my face heat again. I had to look away. I tried twice before I could form another coherent sentence.

"I really am here to lend a hand for the Healers," I said. "I…I should go now. I-I'm sorry I just pounced on you like that. I won't do it again."

"So next time I'll have to be the one doing the pouncing?"

I whipped my head up and stared at him while he started silently laughing at me again.

"I'm leaving, now," I said firmly, walking away.

"I'll accompany you down to the kitchen," he said, easily catching up.


	24. The Pyre

CHAPTER 24- The Pyre

One of the Healers intercepted Flauvic on our way down the kitchen, insisting that he shouldn't be "gallivanting about" when he should be resting with the others. The Healer led him out to the court yard with the rest of the soldiers who were already tended to. I could tell that Flauvic was tempted to tell the man who he was talking to and what to do with his need to get some rest, but he kept his temper and went. Personally, I was glad to have the time to myself so that I could think.

Just as always, Flauvic had sent me dashing from one extreme of emotion to another in the space of a heartbeat. I had been broken and grieving when I had come to the castle, sure that he had been killed in the battle when he'd been pulled off his horse. Then, to find him alive and…not _well_, but certainly better off than some of these poor army men and women, I had jumped immediately to unbelievable joy, as well as jumping into the man's arms. What shocking behavior for a princess! And it was definitely not what I was used to. How did he do that to me every time?

I took several new rolls of bandages and was directed to the room at the end of the guest wing where the new patients were brought in. I found a woman only a few years older than myself lying in the bed, one of her arms at an odd angle and a deep gash on her right thigh. I winced when I saw her, but pulled myself together so that she wouldn't fell worse than she already did. I talked to her quietly as I cleaned away the dried blood and dirt from her cut, obviously inflicted by a down-sweep of a sword. She kept trying to drift to sleep, but I suspected that she may have a concussion, so I did my best to keep her awake by having her tell me about herself.

The next patient was an older man who didn't look like he was going to make it easy for me to get him taken care of. He was drunk from attempts to dull the pain. One of his hands was missing, leaving him with a stump that had been cauterized to prevent infection. He was still awaiting treatment for several wounds on his face and other appendages. I had to call in help with him because he was so inebriated that he fought me every time I tried to clean off the scrapes and cuts.

I needed a break after that man. I had never been so close to anything like that before, and I wasn't sure I could do so again. I found a small library and found a cushion to sit on. I stayed in there for as long as I could to avoid being spotted and pointed to a new atrocity. After a while my thoughts turned back to Flauvic and I knew I had to get back to work. I found a third patient to work on, this one not nearly so hard to handle; and then a fourth and a fifth. Two women and another man.

By the time I had finished with the final patient it was nearly dusk, and I found that I hadn't changed my mind about going to the funeral pyre tonight. I had seen so much today, but it wasn't hard to remember that there were so many who were not as lucky as the warriors who found themselves in the Healers' care. Their sacrifice needed to be honored, and I knew I had to be there.

I spoke to the Healer that was in charge- I finally thought to ask his name: Aulus- and asked that I have the night off to attend the funeral fires. One advantage to being a princess was that even though he didn't like the loss of help at the make-shift hospital, he had no power to make me stay. I asked for a horse to enable me to get to the sight of the funeral more quickly and was on my way in minutes.

I was out of town and reaching the edge of the farmland when the sound of hooves came from behind me. In a moment the other horse drew up along side me on the rode and I found myself riding parallel to Flauvic. His left arm was still in a sling, but he was controlling the horse capably enough that he wasn't going to fall off and get hurt even worse.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I heard that you had left," he said. "Then that you had gone to attend the funeral pyre ceremony for the soldiers and militia men and women who fell." He paused for a long time, but took a quick breath and finished what he had to say. "This is still my home, and these are still my people. I'm not so removed that I don't understand my obligation to them. _I_ need to be there as much as you and your family do."

"Didn't the Healers try to stop you? Because of your arm, I mean," I clarified.

"They had no right to tell me what I could or couldn't do," Flauvic sneered, a touch more his old, pain-in-the-neck self.

We rode in silence for the remainder of the journey. By the time that we got back to the canyon, the fires had already been lit and the prayers were being chanted, asking that the earth take the fallen soldiers ashes and use them to create new life, and the universe to remember the lives that the men and women had during this lifetime so that they will never be forgotten. Flauvic and I stayed near the back so that we didn't disturb the mourning families and friends of the deceased.

The embers burned long into the night, there were so many who had died. It was heartrending. I discovered tears coming down my face more than once as the loved ones left behind came forward to tell stories of the ones who had died. I also noticed that Flauvic stayed beside me, even putting his free hand on my back when I cried.

At dawn the crowd started to disperse and go home to start trying to rebuild their lives. My family finally found me as Flauvic and I went to get the horses that we'd hobbled when we first arrived. I could tell that Mother had been crying right away. If I looked hard enough I could even see dark shadows under my brother's eyes. This was his first real battle, too. Father was pale, but he didn't have any evidence of tears. I was happy to see that neither of my parents had any worse injuries than bruises and scratches. They both frowned when they saw my company.

"Elestra, we were wondering whether or not you would make it," Father said as they approached.

"I spent the day yesterday helping with the wounded at the castle," I told them.

"We know. Allzey informed us when we came looking for you," Mother said, sending a glare over my shoulder to Flauvic.

There was a brief pause filled with the rustle of leaves and clothing as we shifted, unspeaking.

Father cleared his throat and looked as if he was about to say something when one of the hostlers brought forward their three horses. He thanked the man and turned back to us.

"Shall we head back to the castle, then?" he suggested. "We have many things to discuss."

That last was pointedly spoken to Flauvic, and I felt as if I ought to step in and defend him somehow. I shouldn't have worried. Flauvic is entirely capable of defending himself.

"Yes, Danric, we do," he agreed. "Not the least of which being the susceptibility of your militia to bribes."

"Well, that explains that much, anyway."

Surprisingly, it was Mother who called a halt to the bickering before it began. We went the road back to the castle together, the four of us. It was not a comfortable silence we traveled in. With only a little ways to go until we reached the town again, I couldn't stand the strain of repressed anger anymore. I had to say something to break the tension.

"It could be worse," I said, seemingly from nowhere.

Four heads turned to look at me like I had suddenly manifested myself from thin air. Four equally confused looks were planted on their faces.

"And, how is that?" Flauvic asked.

I kind of smiled- I had to after all the crying I'd done recently- and looked straight at him. "Well, no one got turned into a tree this time. We can be thankful for that, at least."

He narrowed his eyes at me, not appreciating the joke at all, although my family seemed to get a smile out of if.

"Sometimes I can not stand you," he growled at me.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that now, you're sitting," I pointed out, all mock-seriousness.

Even he had to let crack a tiny smirk at that. Not much, but at least the tension in all our shoulders had eased a bit. It wasn't an entirely unbearable last leg of the journey.


	25. A Well Deserved Discussion

PRE-A/N: Hello. There were lots of "good chap" 's from the review. Thank you. Here's the new one.

* * *

CHAPTER 25- A Well Deserved Discussion

Once we had arrived back at Merindar Castile shortly before second gold-change, we were all tired and out of sorts. Father ordered coffee and food brought to us in one of the parlors not being used as a hospital so that we could have what he called "a long overdue chat."

The room was smaller than the one we had used as a war room a few days before, done in soft lavender with a vague, nearly indiscernible pattern in a slightly darker purple. There were cushions on the polished hardwood floor in varying shades of purple from periwinkle to deep violet. It was eye-catching in an entirely good way.

_Who did their decorating?_ I couldn't help but wonder.

We all spread out about the room to fall onto cushions, Mother and I with slightly less self-conscious groans of overtaxed muscles then the men let loose. Had to keep face in front of the other males, and all that nonsense. Mother sat next to Father near the fireplace that was glowing softly with a Fire Stick to ward off the post-rain shower chill that occurred this far north. Alaraec took a position by the door that I had a distinct feeling Father had told him to take in case something should happen, so that we could use it as an escape or to cut off anyone trying to enter. I sent a little glare toward my brother, but he just shrugged and settled into the plum colored feather cushion he'd sat down on.

Flauvic chose a spot by the windows. He was being very careful with his facial expression and body language, and I had an urge to poke fun at him so that he would lash out at me, or to make him laugh, or something, just so that he wouldn't look so much like a woodcarving- oops! Bad choice of simile, considering...

I found a nice, almost reddish-purple cushion in the middle of the room. The message behind my position wasn't lost on anyone. I was acting as a buffer between two potentially hostile forces. I was good at this; I'd done it all the time when Oria had still been at home and she and Alec had gotten into an argument over something. What? You thought that because we were royal that we didn't have squabbles?

No one spoke until after one of the haggard-looking servants came in baring a tray with a coffee pot, fruit, biscuits, jam, sliced meat, and a little bowl of sugar and another of milk, and then left again. Father was pouring himself a cup of coffee after Mother had served herself when he spoke up.

"So, you bribed one of the militiamen in my company and took his place in the ranks," he addressed Flauvic. "My next question is why? Why did you do it?"

Flauvic shrugged with his good shoulder, attempting a casual lounging posture. "Who knows? Perhaps I ran temporarily mad. Now that I look back on my decision, I rather think that I ought to have left the fighting up to you lot and stayed home. I don't know what came over me to nearly make a martyr of myself."

Mother snorted, clearly implying that no one was going to see him as a martyr even if he had died.

"How injured did you get?" Father asked.

"Dislocated shoulder, bruised rib, and assorted cuts and bruises. Nothing to worry yourself about, Vidanric," he drawled.

"He wasn't going to," Mother assured him.

Flauvic narrowed his eyes at her in a fierce glare. "Why did I ever even consider you as momentary distraction?"

I had been about to take a drink of my coffee when I suddenly sputtered into the scalding liquid and flinched back. I was the center of attention again, only this time I hadn't planned it.

"Shocked?" Flauvic asked.

I shook my head and reached for a napkin to dry up some of the splattered coffee.

"No, no. Just...did you have to say it outloud?"

He did the one-shoulder shrug again, a tiny smirk on his face, and I glared. He was _pleased_ that he'd managed to unsettle me, the little.... Well, a princess shouldn't let such a word pass through her mouth, let's put it that way.

I heard a muffled snort and turned to see my brother covering up a grin by shoving a biscuit in his mouth. He looked at me like he knew something that I hadn't told him and he was going to use it against me. Sibling blackmail at it's finest.

I didn't even bother looking at my parents. I had the feeling that what had happened yesterday afternoon was written all over my face, and I didn't want to see what they thought of the matter.

"Next question, shall we?" Father asked. "Elestra's note was a little hasty and didn't give all the information, only that Rathimon was a spy for Denlieff and you two were riding to try and stop the messengers from reaching the awaiting army. I got a slightly abbreviated version of the story from Meliara, but I'd like to hear what you have to say."

"Not much more to tell," Flauvic said. "Rathimon approached me to betray you. I considered it. I decided against it. I even decided to see if I couldn't stop the messenger from bringing down the Denlieff army down around our ears, seeing as Remalna's just recently, historically speaking, gotten out of a war. She," he indicated toward me, "found out and insisted on helping, although I did try to talk her out of it. She's very stubborn."

"And proud of it," I said.

He glanced at me in irritation. I raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and looked away.

_Exactly_, I thought smuggly.

"The messengers had a summons-stone, I heard," Father continued. "Why didn't they use it right away instead of spending the energy on a long ride and engaging in a skirmish with the both of you?"

Hm. That was a good question. I looked over at Flauvic to see if he had a good answer, or at least a good theory.

Flauvic sneered- very carefully- and shook his head. "Please. The thing had 'shoddy craftsmanship' practically engraved in it. I could have made a better one when I was twelve. The messengers had to be within a certain range, and it was only good for one use on top of that. It went dead immediately after the man called the generals to move out. Frankly, I'm surprised it worked at all. I don't think he even knew if he would be in range yet or not. He took a chance when he saw that he might not get another."

Father looked skeptical. So was I. We both looked to Mother to see if such a thing was possible. She caught our silent inquiries and sighed.

"Yes," she nodded grudgingly. "If a summons-stone is made poorly, or made so that no one can trace the direction of the summons, it can only be used once and go dead right afterwards."

Father and I nodded, satisfied that she would back up the magical fact, if not the person himself.

"My final question," Father informed us. "What do you plan on doing now that you have effectively made yourself into a hero of the realm? What do you hope to gain?"

"That's two questions," Flauvic said.

"Final two questions, then," Father nearly snapped.

"What do I hope to gain...?" Flauvic mused, resettling again. "Hopefully, my home returned to me, my position reinstated, you as far out of my life as possible, and- although I'm not holding my breath for this one- my powers restored to me from the Hill Folk."

"HAH!" Mother said. "Life, let's hope not!"

"As for the other question," he continued as if she hadn't spoken at all, "I plan on returning to Athanarel, fulfilling my time as a servant, and then getting on with my life in some form or fashion. I was thinking I may even humble myself further and petition for Merindar to be given back."

"It was never taken out of your name," Father said coolly. "It is still rightfully yours for whenever you want it, once all the paper work is done."

That seemed to stop Flauvic. He stopped his tirade and just sat, almost staring, as if he couldn't trust what he'd heard with his own ears.

"What?" he asked softly, carefully, in disbelief.

"This castle, the grounds, the town, and the estate are all still yours," Father repeated. "I never believed that you would remain a tree forever. I kept them in your name for that time, however distant it may have seemed when I drew up the proposal, when you would ask for them back."

"Much as I tried to talk him out of it," Mother grumbled.

"Are you saying," Flauvic asked slowly, his temper rising, "that all I'd needed to have done when I returned last spring was to ask to have my lands returned to me...and you would have been obligated, by your own word, to give them back?"

"Yes."

Flauvic turned to glare at me, as if I'd somehow betrayed him so that he'd look like a fool.

"I didn't know," I insisted, shrugging. "Besides, I told you the estate was being held. I just didn't think that it would have been that easy for you to reclaim it. It was up to you, after all."

He grabbed a vacant cushion and brought it to his face. I could hear him mumbling into it: probably cursing himself, Father, Mother, me, fate, himself again, and whispering spells to turn us into all sorts of nasty things but which were entirely impotent to do any harm.

I resisted the urge to crawl over and hug him. I figured he wouldn't accept it, and my family might object. However, I couldn't resist chuckling under my breath. It was too funny. All this time struggling, and all he'd had to do was ask.

"May I make a suggestion?" Alaraec spoke up for the first time since we'd come through the front gates.

"Please do," Mother said.

"We are all very tired at the moment. It's been a long few days. Why don't we all get some rest and continue this when everyone is thinking clearly?"

"A very good suggestion," Father said. "Let's get some sleep-"

"Um," I interjected. "The rooms we were using are now housing the wounded from battle," I explained. "We'll need to ask Lemuel and Aulus where we can sleep."

Father looked stretched beyond his means. He sighed, gritting his teeth, and started to stand up. Mother put a hand on his shoulder and pressed him back down, giving him a sympathetic expression.

"I'll go," she said softly.

Father gave her a grateful, loving look. I smiled at them. Twenty-six years together, and it was still so obvious that they were in love. They simply clicked. It made me feel a little lonely just seeing it. Not as lonely as it used to, though. Just a little less. Maybe. Could be wrong. Who knows?

Mother reentered a moment later to inform us that we would be bedding down tonight in the Residence Wing. I flicked a glance at Flauvic to see what he thought of that. He was very nearly catatonic, staring at the wall in front of him, pretending that no one else existed. I drew the conclusion that it was a bad night for all of us.

* * *

POST-A/N: If you were surprised that Danric had kept Merindar in Flauvic's name after all that he'd done, well all I can say to that was- so was I. I didn't have any idea that he'd done that until I'd typed it and he told me so. That's what happened when I found out that the Denlieff army was still coming after Elly and Flauvic had stopped the couriers, too. Trust me, this story was supposed to be a lot shorter.


	26. A Plan for Afterward

PRE-A/N: Well, here's the last push-through. It's even a triple update. Oh, and I need to apologize. These last chapters are...funky. There a little...off. You might have noticed it last chapter, but just for the heads-up, it's kinda weird. Ah, and one question: I know I've been told before, but I can never remember what OOC stands for.

-Shattered Oasis: Thanx for the tip.

-Wake-Robin: Thank you for liking my writing style. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

-Felsong: Jeesh, you're demanding!

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CHAPTER 26- A Plan for Afterward 

_(to Flauvic)_

Flauvic wasn't in the room he'd had as a child, but he thought he remembered playing hide-and-find with Fialma in this room, before she had become too much of a snob to run around and risk getting her dress mussed. But then, he admitted to himself, he'd become quite a snob, too.

Dropping, oh so gently, onto the wonderfully soft bed, clean sheets, warm comforter, and feather pillows, Flauvic's eyes dropped and stayed down until hours after dawn the next day. At first he didn't register what it meant that there was sunlight seeping through the flimsy curtains. Then he had a moment of panic that someone was going to come and force him out of bed and down to the kitchens. He was half way out of bed, hissing at the pain flooding his entire body, when he remembered where he was and what had been happening.

Flauvic ran a hand across the back of his neck as he sat up on the edge of the mattress. He took stock of himself, tried moving his left arm to see if that hurt- which it did, but not as much, so hopefully his shoulder had popped back into place while he slept. What he did notice, without much effort, was that he hadn't bathed in a while. When was the last time he'd gone so long without washing?

Oh, yes. On the trip from Sles Adran back to Athanarel last year...may Fialma burn alive for not taking him in. May the mages and sorcerers there all burn for not being able to give him his powers back.

Flauvic shook his head. He thought it, but the curses didn't have the same force as they'd once had. Maybe he had matured. Maybe it was the fact that he was home, that it was still his home that made him look a little more kindly on those people.

He sighed heavily, making him hiss in pain from his bruised rib. He muttered a string of obscenities he'd picked up while wandering for two years, then carefully stood up. He decided to take his chances going down to the hot springs. He probably should have done that when he'd first gotten here, but then he'd just been too tired to even think, much less walk down to the cavern to bathe. Sad, but true. That would never have happened _before_. Pre-tree, to quote Elestra. She was always saying things like that. She made the greatest tragedy of his life seem silly, like a friendly joke--something to be laughed off.

Speaking of the princess...when Flauvic got to the corner of the hall where it turned to meet the corridor where the master bedroom, the place his parents used to sleep, was situated at the end, Flauvic heard the sound of her voice along with someone else's. The other person was a man, maybe about his age- or, the age he looked anyway. A foreign, cold, mildly corroding feeling started bubbling under his chest, about where his bruised rib was. But then he placed the voice as Alaraec, Elestra's brother. The feeling eased and he forgot he'd had it at all.

He couldn't tell what they were saying until he'd almost rounded the corner, where, across from him, lay the curving stairwell leading down to the caverns. He stayed pressed to the wall so that they couldn't see him eavesdropping. He'd learned as a page that being a spy-ears could come in quite handy, and made you a valuable asset to those who needed someone else's private information.

"So you'll help?" Elestra asked.

"That depends; will you answer all my questions?" her brother shot back.

"Urgh! What kind of questions?"

"Well..." Flauvic could hear the teasing pleasure in Alaraec's voice. "Questions such as, why did Lieutenant Allzey have to have you drugged the other day to get you to not jump off of the rim of the canyon? I've heard stories, but..." The boy laughed. "Hah! Beet red. I thought so. You realize you've given me the ability to tease you forever?"

Elestra had to have been to be drugged? When was this? What had happened? Was she alright?

"I hate you," she muttered, just loud enough for Flauvic to hear.

"No you don't."

"No," Elestra sighed in disappointment. "But I could."

"No, you couldn't," Alaraec chuckled.

"No, but I'd like to!" she snapped at him.

Her brother laughed again, good-naturedly instead of cruelly, as Flauvic had always laughed at his sister when she'd done something to embarrass herself.

"Be that as it may, sister dear, right now, I'm the only one on your side. So, be nice, brat."

"I'm not being a brat," she contested. "You're being a horrible big brother. And a horrible future king! What would Father say?"

"Oh, I'm only teasing Elly. Whatever plan you manage to pull together, I'll support, and we'll get them to go along with it," Alaraec promised.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm still thinking, though. I need to talk to Flauvic before I start laying a plan.... Don't look at me like that."

The siblings moved off down the hall, away from where Flauvic stood. He waited until he heard the faint sound of a tapestry settling back into place before moving to the stairwell. He glanced down the hall, trying to figure out exactly what had happened before he'd come in to hear the rest. What was Elestra trying to do, and why? What was she trying to gain- But, no. Elestra wasn't trying to gain anything. It wasn't in her to be mercenary, he knew that much.

They would have to talk later, that much he was sure of. After his bath.

***^^^***^^^***

_(back to Elestra)_

I didn't see Flauvic again until nearly halfway through second green. I came across him in the hallway when I'd started walking to his temporary room to invite him to lunch with my brother and me. The first thing that registered was that the sling on his arm was gone so that it could hang at his side like the other. Then I noticed that his hair was damp, swinging behind his shoulders as he walked toward me, and the wounds on his now-shaven face were red and angry. He'd been down to the hot springs, apparently not knowing that sulfur is irritating to raw flesh, to say the least. I put my hand over my mouth so that he wouldn't see me near-laughing at him.

"I take it you tried to dunk your head under the water?" I asked.

He glowered at me. I shook my head.

"That wasn't one of the smartest things you've ever done, Flauvic. I hope this isn't becoming a habit. Doing stupid things, I mean."

"I wasn't planning on it," he grumbled. "I hadn't bathed in over a week, and I needed a shave. The sulfur didn't really enter into the equation until after I'd already begun."

I couldn't help chuckling. "Come on, we'll have a late lunch ordered for us. We need to talk ,anyway. And you can put a wet cloth on your face to stop it from stinging while we eat." I walked over to him and tried to take him by the arm, but he pulled away. I looked up at him, perplexed.

"There's a library on the ground floor," he said, still a bit grouchy. "Better to meet in a public room, instead of a little used bedroom, don't you think?"

This time, I understood the implication fully, without him having to wait or explain. My face went a bright shade of scarlet.

"You have one of the worst minds I've ever met," I told him honestly.

He managed to crack just a tiny smile. "I would laugh, if it didn't hurt so much."

"Nothing would have been thought of it, anyway," I said, trying to cover up my earlier embarrassment. "My brother will be joining us for lunch."

"It's so very fun watching you turn red," Flauvic smirked. "It never fails. You always take things too close to heart."

I pulled myself together and cleared my throat. "I've been thinking about what to do now that...well, now that everything has happened the way it has," I said, trying to get back on a neutral subject. "Alaraec has agreed to give me- us, since everything here has to do with you- his support when we talk to Mother and Father again this evening. But first, we need to figure out exactly what stand we're going to take, and how to make them listen."

Flauvic was quiet for a long moment before nodding. "The library is still probably the best place to hold this little meeting."

I threw my hands up. "Fine! We'll have lunch in the library. See you there in a bit; I need to find my brother."

He nodded and walked away, back down the hall in the direction he'd been coming from. I watched him go and shook my head.

After I'd found Alaraec and informed him of our change of rooms for the lunch meeting, I went down to the library, stopping only once to ask someone where it was. Alec was getting a few things together for us and would be there in a few minutes, he'd told me. In the library, Flauvic was already flipping through one of the books, holding an obviously wet cloth to his face when I came in. He looked up when I pushed the tapestry aside, meeting my eyes before turning to put the book back up on the shelf. I got a sense of déjà vu and smiled a little.

"I already went to ask if lunch could be served to us in here," he told me. "Everyone's still concentrating on the wounded, so it may take a while."

"That's fine," I said. "My brother still needs a few minutes, anyway."

He nodded, and then we slipped into silence. Neither of us had a single thing to say for a long time.

"What book were you reading?" I asked, wanting to say something, anything, to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing very important," he said, apparently not getting the hint.

Another long silence followed before Flauvic turned to me, an intense, questioning look in his eyes. He pulled the cloth away from his face so that I could clearly understand both his words and his expression. "Did you really not know about Merindar still being in my name? Tell me the truth."

"Flauvic," I sighed. "I'm not purposefully vindictive. Teasing, yes, and I have to admit, there have been times that I've enjoyed watching you squirm. But had I known, I would have told you. I certainly wouldn't have kept it from you this long just to make you sweat. How could you even ask me that?"

He kept an intent gaze on my face for a few more seconds. He let out a breath and nodded, returning the damp cloth to his cheek. "You're right. I apologize."

He'd actually said he was sorry out loud. It caught me off guard, surprising me.

"It's alright."

Unfortunately, now we were back to silence. It seemed like a long time before Alaraec came in to join us. He paused just inside the tapestry and looked over the scene in front of him: Flauvic and I on nearly opposite sides of the long room, not looking anywhere near each other, and an uncomfortable quiet stretching throughout the room.

"Well, this is productive," he said ironically, turning to address me. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"About what?" Flauvic asked suspiciously.

"What we're going to do now that everything's been done," I said. "And no, I haven't gotten a chance to get around to it."

"Because the time it took me to get here was so brief," Alaraec muttered.

I chose to ignore him and focused on Flauvic. "I've been trying to think of how to do this without my parents lobbying too many complaints."

"Call me dense, but what, exactly, is 'this?'" he asked.

"Getting you what you want," I clarified.

Whether he purposely chose to misunderstand to see my go red again, or he was just that obtuse, Flauvic gave me a look similar to the one he'd tossed at me earlier. I crossed my arms in front of my chest in annoyance-- getting teased once was enough, and now my brother was in the room, too.

"Dirtiest mind of anyone I know," I reiterated. "I meant, how to get you your home back and position reinstated-- that is what you said you wanted, after all-- and the little issue of your remaining sentence as a servant at the palace." Which, for some reason, I was suddenly tempted to lengthen.

"Ah, of course."

We were cut off from discussing it any further at the moment by the arrival of lunch. It took two servants only a few minutes to set up the hastily made sandwiches, biscuits, fresh vegetables and fruit, and cider. We thanked them as they left and got back to the business at hand.

"Alright," Flauvic said, seating himself on one of the cushions and setting aside the wet cloth so that he could eat. "So, how do you propose to get me 'what I want'?"

I found my brother looking at me, his eyes shining with suppressed laughter. He gave me a "go ahead" motion with his hand and sat back to let me take the lead. I sighed and used an apple to buy me a moment to think.

"Well," I said, "I suppose I can't very well keep a new national hero as a servant, can I? You only have a few months left anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard to talk them into letting you off early."

"My humblest thanks," he returned. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

Judging by the tone in his voice, apparently today Flauvic was bound and determined to make me angry. He was very close to succeeding. I mean, honestly, what had crawled into his hair and died? I looked over at Alaraec to see if he could offer any insight into Flauvic's bad attitude. He just shrugged and handed me some grapes, a resigned expression on his face.

I took a deep breath to help me keep my rising temper in check. "Obviously Father plans on giving you back your title and lands, but that is the point that Mother will be most likely to argue with. How do you suggest we deal with that?" I asked Flauvic.

"Tell her what she can go do with her arguments?" Flauvic suggested tiredly.

I gave up trying to keep complete control of my temper. I used the ammunition that Alaraec had given me and threw a grape hard at Flauvic's head. Even with one eye swollen, and the other not to much better shape, he caught the grape and popped it into his mouth.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You being so difficult today," I answered. "What is your problem?"

"You're the one throwing grapes," he countered.

"Only because it seems as if you'd made it your mission to annoy me," I said.

He was silent for a long time. Alaraec and I traded looks and couldn't figure out what else to say. Finally, Flauvic cleared his throat a little.

"There's a mirror down in the changing room at the hot springs."

I hadn't noticed that, but there was no reason not to believe him. I could easily have overlooked it; it was very hazy down there.

"And?" I asked.

"And there's a mirror in the changing room," Flauvic reiterated. "And I'm not blind, even if one of my eyes is swollen nearly shut."

Ah. Now I understood. He'd finally gotten a chance to see himself with the stitched up wound running across his face, along with the other bruises he'd accumulated during the past week. Mother had been right. His pretty face was, perhaps not ruined, but marred. He was no longer the handsomest person in a room anymore.

I nodded my head toward Alaraec, asking him to step outside so that I could talk to Flauvic alone for a moment. He understood and went peacefully, quirking an eyebrow up at me. I took a second to wish that the rest of my family would be so cooperative when it came to Flauvic. The man himself had gotten to his feet and went to look out of the tall windows on the far wall. I got up to follow as soon as Alaraec was outside the door tapestry.

"Flauvic?" I said softly. "Why are you so worried about how your face looks now? As if anyone's going to be paying attention to that, anyway. When we get back to Athanarel to take care of all the paper work and bureaucracy, you'll be surrounded by hordes of admiring women all wanting to hear the story of the one-day-war as it happened from the perspective of the new war hero who helped to save Remalna."

I tried to sound friendly, teasing. Good old Elestra, who can find the humor in any situation. But the thought of Flauvic being surrounded by an admiring, flattering, and, let's face it, ready-and-willing female horde made me want to violently attack all of the single women I knew. Tara was so beautiful, and she'd already shown an initial interest in him. Kitten could easily get any man with her sweetness, and she didn't even have to consciously try. Then there was Lady Calissma, with her never-ending curves and her flaming, redwood-colored hair. She looked a bit like Mother, so that might be some incentive. Not to mention the dozens of others who would no doubt come panting at his heels. No, no one would be put off by the scar. If anything, they would be intrigued. War wounds always drew favorable attention.

I cleared my throat and started again, driving down the intense jealousy that had crept up on me. How had I let myself get into a situation with Flauvic where I was jealous to begin with?

"The swelling will go down in a few days," I said. "The color will fade soon after. True, you'll always have a scar, but, if anything, it adds character. Besides, I thought you said that you didn't like it when people stared at you as if you were nothing but your pretty face."

He turned around to face me, leaning back against the wooden divider between two of the windows. "They'll all still be staring at me, you know," he said. "It will just be for a different reason now. I think I liked the first reason better; I felt less like a freak."

I frowned and raised a hand to his injrued cheek before I could stop myself. "You're not a freak." I dropped my hand with barely the lightest brush across his jaw. The mood had gotten too heavy, too rife with emotion and the unsayable. I had to get us out of this, and, being me, I did it with my usual style. "I mean, if someone was going to call you a freak, they would have started long before now. Man--tree. Tree--man. You must admit, it's an oddity."

He shook his head, but seemed to know that I was only teasing. "I'm never going to live that down," he stated.

"Of course not," I smirked. "You're one of the biggest things to happen in Remalnan history. War wound, shmore wound. Just saying, "I was a tree," is bound to start a conversation, at least."

"It certainly started one with you," he said dryly. "Now I can't get you to shut up."

"Yes, but I'm incorrigible." I grinned shrugged. "Once I start something, inertia takes over and it's nearly impossible to get me to stop."

"Mm," he smirked, a bit of vintage Flauvic seeping through. "Yes, I've noticed that. Can you give me a hint at what will make you stop? Besides gagging you, I mean."

"I'm afraid that there really is nothing else," I shrugged, feeling better now that we'd gotten away from the earlier uncomfortable conversation and on to something completely outrageous. "I am either asleep or making jokes. It's who I am."

I went back to the table and sat down. "We should probably call Alaraec back in. We still need to figure out what we're going to say to my parents when we meet with them later."

Flauvic followed and I called for Alec. He shot me a look when he reentered, and I assured him that we could get back to business now.

* * *

POST-A/N: Wow, that was long, wasn't it!


	27. A Long Ending

CHAPTER 27- A Long Ending

In the next bell-change we agreed that the only way Flauvic was going to get to keep Merindar without too much of a fight from Mother and most of the other nobles remember him and who will likely have a very big say in the decision, was for him to agree to a string of conditions.

"So, I'll have my home back, but only if a dozen other things apply as well?" he grumbled.

"I'm afraid that you made quite an impression when you were still a noble, and a few months as a basically respectable servant are not going to convince many people that you won't try something nasty again," Alaraec said.

"If they're the ones coming up with the stipulations I can guarantee you that there will be miles of them," I said. "Now, if you were the one who came with armed with the terms you'll agree to and be willing to negotiate, they'll see that you're serious about making a new life and making sure that it works. I promise you that they'll listen harder to what you have to say, and the list of 'ifs' will be shorter."

He thought long and hard about it. I could tell that he didn't like having to bend to anyone else's authority- it went against his basic make up. I also knew that we were right. Flauvic was not going to get his home and power back with no strings attached, no matter how much this adventure had helped his case.

"Very well," he forced through his teeth. He took a deep breath and glanced my way. "Have you thought of becoming a diplomat yourself? You're becoming rather good at getting others to listen to reason."

"Thank you very much," I smirked. "And, no, I haven't."

"It's not so far fetched, actually," Alaraec added. "You would be good at it, and, frankly, you butt-into other peoples' issues readily enough. I admit, though, you do usually have something constructive to say. You should speak to Father and Mother about it."

Now it was my turn to think. Maybe I could be a diplomat. It would certainly be an interesting life. I would finally feel like I had an actual purpose, instead of being the floundering middle child. Maybe I should speak to Mama and Papa about it.

But that wasn't the point right now.

"Fine, I agreed to take on the codicils," Flauvic sighed. "I'm assuming that the first will have to be my signing an oath of allegiance. That's easily done. I'm sure someone will demand that if I should, in any way, be suspected of treason I will suffer a traitor's death. But then, that really is the dog handing them the whip, isn't it?"

"You would have a trial, you know," Alaraec insisted. "No one would just cold bloodedly demand your death."

"A good way to avoid anyone getting false information that might lead to an accusation like that," I suggested, "would be to have someone here that would report to the King and Queen directly. For lack of a better term, a spy."

"Wonderful," Flauvic muttered. "I'll be trading one pack of shadows for another."

"Oh, no," I shook my head mock-seriously. "Father would probably send some of the same ones, figuring that you'd be more comfortable with the spies you already know." I changed approaches when he sent me a glare. "How about, instead of secreted away watchers of your every move, you keep Lemuel, the steward, after you take control of the title again?" I opted. "The townspeople and farmers have been working with him for the past decade, so having him around will help start a good relationship with them. They won't balk at coming to the castle with their problems because they know that someone they know, and who knows them, will be there to listen."

"I feel I ought to get offended by that," he muttered.

"Not at all. It's the truth."

"Agreed," Flauvic sighed. "Lemuel stays and sends word back to your parents on what I'm up to, reassuring them that I'm behaving myself."

By second green we had list of things that Flauvic was willing to submit to in order to have Merindar returned to him. On that list was that there could be no books on magic or magical accessories in Merindar at all in Flauvic's lifetime. Regardless of his current inability to do more than basic spells, there was no one at Court who was going to trust him in that area. Flauvic agreed to that one with the most ease. I added that he should probably have yearly or even bi-yearly visits to the palace. I'm sure I gave a good reason, but I can't remember what it was, and I'm sure I wasn't fooling Alaraec, at least.

Lunch ended, and Alec said that he was going to go ask how long the army would be staying here, compounding the pressures put on the town already. I hesitated on whether I should stay or not. It would probably be best if I went to help with the wounded again, and I did want to help. The only thing keeping me in the library was that I didn't really want to leave Flauvic. The thought of a pack of fawning women surrounding him was still irking me, to be honest. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a single excuse to stay in the room.

***^^^***^^^***

_(to Flauvic)_

She got up from the table and made a move to follow her brother's path to the door. Flauvic found that he didn't want her to go, but he couldn't think of a valid reason for her to stay. Even worse, he couldn't think of a good excuse so that she would stay. He was absolutely certain that none of the usual flirtatious remarks would work with her, so he fell back on a habit learned as a page. When in doubt, subtly interrogate.

"What are you planning to do with the rest of your time here?" he asked.

Elestra paused halfway between the table she'd vacated and the door tapestry to turn back and face him while she answered. "I thought I'd go and see if I can help any more with the wounded."

How very like her. He couldn't decide if he was more impressed with her devotion to eliminate suffering, or if he should be worried that she was trying to avoid him.

"I believe that everyone who could be helped has already been taken care of last night," he told her. And it was the truth, too. He'd checked on it himself.

"Oh," she said, looking around the room, anywhere but at him. "Um, then I don't know what I plan to do. It's not as if I have a trunk full of clothes to pack up before we leave." She held out the hem of the borrowed shirt that she was still wearing from when they'd first gotten to the castle with Meliara.

"No, but then, we're not entirely sure when you are going to leave," he reminded her. "It could be days, even weeks yet, with a wounded army to move."

"True, again," Elestra conceded. She folded her arms across her chest and paced a small circle. "Well, I can't just sit here; I'll go crazy."

"Why don't I show you around the castle," Flauvic suggested. "Or, what I remember. This way I can see what changes have been made since I was gone, and you can see what's here for yourself."

She smiled and nodded her head. Elestra was really rather lovely when she smiled.

"I would like that. Lead the way."

They started with the floor they were on. Flauvic found that most of the alterations that had been made were surface. There were new coats of paint, some new furniture, a few pieces of the old furniture were moved around, plus some new paintings and statues, as well as indoor plants. Potted trees had become fashionable at the time that he had been transformed into a tree, and now it wasn't just trees, but flowers grown in pots, ferns, entire little ecosystems indoors.

"My mother once had a fit when I brought a frog I'd found inside to scare Fialma," Flauvic mused, "and now I could drop that frog into one of these containers and it could live quite happily unnoticed."

Elestra burst out laughing. "I can only _just_ see you bringing in a frog as a little boy. And even then, I have to squint!"

The biggest shock came when they found a room that Flauvic distinctly remembered as the nursery where he and his sister played when they were much much younger. Now the room was something of a headquarters that Lemuel had been using to work from. The steward himself sat behind the solid oak desk in the center of the room at the moment, speaking with Aulus, the chief Healer, about something when Flauvic and Elestra looked in.

After Aulus suggested a salve for Flauvic's irritated cut and advised him to put a poultice on his eye to help the swelling go down, Flauvic began his interrogation of Lemuel. Once the steward understood what he was asking, Lemuel informed the two of them that most of what had been in the room when he'd gotten here had been in crates and sacks, and had been taken up to the castle lofts for storage.

"Everything we took up still should all be there," he said. "We didn't take anything out, just hauled it up to the castle lofts."

In barely a moment, Elestra and Flauvic had climbed the spiral stairs until they reached the old wooden door that was set into the main attic floor. Pushing together, they got the rusty hinges to let the door swing up so that they could enter the dark room at the very top of Merindar Castle.

"I wish we'd brought a Fire Stick; I can hardly see," Flauvic muttered, climbing up.

"With all that dust up there, I wish your face were bandaged," Elestra said. "It's a wonder that cut hasn't gotten infected already."

Flauvic ignored her remark and reached down to help her up. They had to search the loft for a while before they found one of the sacks that Lemuel had told them about. The room was full of discarded furniture and throw rugs, old clothing, and an assortment of odds and ends that they couldn't quite define in the dim lighting coming up from the open square in the floor. When they found the sack, they brought it down the stairs and pulled it over to a window that was streaming with late afternoon sunlight.

Every toy and game that they pulled out brought up another memory for Flauvic. Getting lost in his childhood, he told Elestra all sorts of stories that she could almost see in the air above his head as he reminisced, the sunlight fading to the grey threat of evening rain as time passed. It was hard at first for her to see him as a child. He acted as if he had sprung from the womb full formed most of the time. As he went on, it got easier, and Elestra could almost see the tow-headed, freckle faced-- he admitted to the freckles only when pressed-- little boy he had been, until eventually they ran out of things to pull from the bag, and a drizzle had started outside.

"It's going to be a monumental chore to go up there, bring everything down and sort through it all," Elestra said.

"I can't decide whether I'm going to enjoy it or not," Flauvic sighed. "Not all of the memories up there are bound to be good."

"Whose childhood is wholly good?" she asked. "Just like people, it's going to be a mixture of both."

"We're going to have a lot of sorting to do," he murmured distractedly, staring up at the attic door.

"Yes, you are."

He hadn't realized it until just then, but when he had said 'we,' he'd counted Elestra in that. But by the time he had his lands and title restored and was home sorting through the refuse in the attic, she would be in Athanarel, possibly being trained to be an ambassador to foreign countries. Maybe she would be the one who was going to settle the dispute between Remalna and King Uland, who was never going to admit that he had any part in staging the failed coup of four days ago.

Flauvic got very quiet and considered the young woman sitting before him. She wasn't his type. She was too honest, too forthright, too good, and, to be honest, a bit on the plain side except when she smiled-- definitely not the exotic beauty he usually went for. He wasn't able to manipulate her, she would never allow it. She was the daughter of two people he could barely stand to be in the same room with. There were times he couldn't stand to be in the same room with her, either. And yet, more than anything, he wanted her to stay. Until a moment ago, it hadn't even occurred to him that she wouldn't be.

"Would you like to?"

"Would I like to what?" she asked, confused.

"Would you like to stay, here, with me?" he finished looking straight into her eyes as best as he could with one eye swollen.

Now it was Elestra's turn to get quiet. "Why?" she asked a few moments later, looking genuinely bewildered.

"Because I enjoy your company, and I'd like to enjoy it more," Flauvic answered smoothly.

"That's not good enough, Flauvic," she said, looking away.

He leaned back against the wall and presented her with a blank face while he thought of a way to phrase what he wanted to say. "I want you to stay. I...burn it! Just take what you know I'm saying...."

"That's the problem, Flauvic. I'm not sure what you're saying. I know what I want you to say," she admitted, "but whether that is really what you mean, I don't know."

"I'm going to have to spell it out, aren't I?"

She turned back to him and nodded gently, her eyes gleaming. "Please..."

It took him another long moment to be able to work the words up into his throat. He had never used them much, and he wasn't very good at calling them up now. To give himself courage as much as anything, Flauvic reached across the narrow hall and caught Elestra's chin in his hand. He pressed a quick, hard kiss onto her mouth and took a breath.

"I love you, and I want you to stay with me perminantly. Satisfied?"

Elestra paused for a heart beat before her face broke into a wide grin. "Yes," she laughed, "to the question you asked, and to the one you didn't."


	28. Epilogue

CHAPTER 28-Epilogue 

_(back to Elestra)_

I have to be honest, I considered turning Flauvic down. I had a momentary attack of self-consciousness and couldn't understand why he would want me. There were so many women who were more what I was sure he was used to- the beautiful, witty, seductive types. But then I caught myself and realized that I couldn't possibly leave him to women like that! He deserved better, and I was definitely better _for_ him. If he was crazy enough to want me, I was just fine with being the one to make sure he remained on the straight and narrow for the rest of his life.

Later, I found out from Alaraec that Mother and Father had gone looking for me when they hadn't seen me for nearly three bell-changes. They ran into Lemuel in one of the hallways, who, of course, led them toward the stairs that went up to the attic. The three of them found me and Flauvic exploring the depths of each others' mouths in the hallway under the window, rain pattering on the glass. It was nothing too scintillating, but quite a jolt for my parents and the innocent eyes of the steward. It was a scene he would become quite used to stumbling upon in the future at Merindar Castle.

Mother had a small break down right there, which Flauvic found vastly entertaining. I tried to keep the peace between the two of them, but honestly I felt like laughing, myself. Father took it in stride. I'm pretty sure that he knew I was in love with Flauvic before I did. Whether he was going to have a break down later where no one could see it, I had no idea.

The four of us, plus the marching army, followed by several wagons full of the minorly-injured-but-still-unable-to-walk soldiers, made our way back to the palace. The ones who were too seriously hurt to be moved right away were staying at Merindar Castle until Aulus felt that it was safe, and then they were to take a five month leave of service to recuperate. As the flags at the tops of the towers of Athanarel came into view, I actually found myself smiling that this would be the last time I would refer to going to the palace as coming home. I didn't realize until just then how much I had always hated all of the pressure placed upon me there, how everyone felt that there was a certain way to act and anyone who defected from that was looked down upon; how much I was going to love getting away from such hypocrites.

There was still so much I had to do. I had to break poor Phillo's heart, although I don't think that it would be too hard for him to fix, honestly. Then announce soon afterward that I would be marrying the one and only, infamous Lord Flauvic, soon to be restored as the Marquis of Merindar. I was definitely still planning on addressing the possibility of becoming involved with diplomacy to Mother and Father. I had no idea how I was going to fit everything I was planning to accomplish in, but I was determined to try. It was going to be an interesting few weeks, to say the least.

It was going to be an interesting rest of my life.

* * *

POST-A/N: So, there it is! There it was, anyway.


End file.
